Legend of Reylea V2: Mysteries of Reylea (HIATUS)
by xxTheTruMan196
Summary: As a Force-sensitive, and the adopted brother of Avatar Korra, Caran has always wished for a proper teacher to help him. And now that a powerful Jedi named Jarik Shan has arrived, he has gotten his wish. But still the dark agents of Snoke continue their schemes. Even with Amon's defeat, they continue seeking to harness the power of Reylea for their master.
1. Chapter 1 - A Harsh Lesson

**_Author's Note: _**Hello guys, and welcome to the first chapter of _'Mysteries of Reylea!'_ First off, if you haven't read the first Volume of this story yet, _'The Avatar the Force,'_ I highly suggest doing so right now before you get started on this story. There are a lot of important things covered in there in order for you to understand this one. For those of you who have read it, I hope you enjoy this next installment! :D

* * *

**_Previously, on the Legend of Reylea…_**

_Korra then stood up with the baby, and looked out into the hall._

_"Hello? Is anyone there!?" she calls out. "Hello! I have your baby!"_

_Nobody answers, and Korra sighs sadly, hefting the baby again in her arms as he continued to mess with his crystal._

_"Guess your mommy and daddy left you," she says sadly. "That's not right."_

_The baby doesn't really understand too much, but only looks up at Korra with wide and awed eyes._

* * *

_Amon bursts out of the water on a massive waterspout, gasping for air. When he turns to face Korra and Luon, they see that his scar was actually some sort of makeup, and is being washed away by the water. All of the citizens notice too, gaping at him in shock and disbelief._

_"He's waterbending?"_

_"He is a bender!"_

_"The scar's fake."_

_"The Avatar was telling the truth!"_

_Amon looks around at all the stunned and upset citizens, and then back at Korra and Luon with a furious glare._

* * *

_"Aang," Korra says in awe._

_"You have finally connected with your spiritual self," Aang says with a smile._

_"How?" she asks in bewilderment, standing up to face him._

_"Something your brother learned," he tells her, still smiling proudly. "When we hit our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change."_

* * *

_Luon takes a few steps forwards, and Korra jumps into his open arms, hugging him tightly._

_"I love you too," she tells him, giving him a passionate kiss._

_After a few moments she separates from the kiss, smiling fondly at Luon. Then she look past him and over to Caran, who is standing with Naga and letting them have their moment. Smiling, Korra runs over to Caran, and scoops him up in a tight hug, lifting him clear off the ground. He yelps in surprise but eagerly returns the hug, burying his face into her shoulder._

_"Thank you Caran," she tells him softly._

_"For what?" he asks in confusion._

_"For being my brother," she replies with a smile._

* * *

_The Messenger was talking to his superior, the Master of the Knights of Ren, via hologram._

_"You failed to kill the CHILD?! Now he's unlocked the true potential Reylea has to offer!"__Vyra snaps._

_"That shouldn't have happened! His powers were supposed to have been blocked!"__The Messenger protests._

_"You'll be sorry when I get down there myself. Now that Amon is dead, we need a new plan! Shan will be there soon, and it's all your fault!" she snarls at him._

* * *

_Korra, Caran, and the rest of the team were gathered around a spaceship that just landed in the snow._

_"It's the Jedi..." Caran breathes out._

_A ramp then slowly lowers down to the ground, and they all hold their breath in anticipation. __The footsteps reach their ears first, and then they catch sight of boots walking down the ramp, and more of the Jedi's appearance becomes visible._

_He's wearing a dark, almost black cloak, along with some form of golden armor underneath the cloak and brown robes. Two lightsabers are clipped to his belt, and on his head he's wearing some sort of golden helmet, a hood over it. He exits the ship fully, and stops just outside of it, looking at them all._

* * *

**_Reylea - Unknown Regions_**

**Jarik POV...**

If I'm going to be honest, these last few days have been interesting. And considering the things I've faced in my lifetime, that is definitely saying something. I came to here to this planet, known as Reylea, for the purpose of determining whether or not the Avatar was a real figure. Now that I'm here I'm also finding out that not only is the Avatar real, but she has a younger brother who is Force sensitive. Not to mention that the planet itself is filled with power in the Force, stronger than almost anything I've ever felt before. I thought I was dreaming when I first came out of hyperspace.

Well, as of right now I'm onboard a boat taking us to a place called Republic City. Everyone else is also with me, some of which are really eager to learn more about the Force. Yeah, Avatar Korra's younger brother. Sitting down in a meditative position, I close my eyes and then let myself open to the Force, feeling along my Force bond with Ahsoka. It doesn't take her long to answer my call, even from light-years away.

_"Hey Soka," _I call out.

_"Hello to you too Jarik," _she replies. _"How's life been for you?"_

_"Kind of boring until now. Took me forever to find this place," _I tell her.

_"Well I'm glad you did. So, did you find them?" _she asks.

_"Course I did," _I reply. _"It would seem that yes, the Avatar is real. Right now, the Avatar is a girl named Korra."_

_"That's nice to hear. Anything else?" _she asks.

_"Yup. Though I might need to stay for a little while," _I admit.

_"Well isn't that typical," _she remarks, and I roll my eyes mentally at her.

_"Ha ha. Well, apparently Korra has an adopted younger brother who crashed onto the planet as an infant. He's Force sensitive," _I tell her.

_"So he needs training?" _she deduces.

_"You know it," _I say with a smile, before sighing uneasily._ "Unfortunately, our worst fears have turn out to be true. Snoke knows about this place, and he's seeking to take it," _I inform her grimly.

She's silent for a moment, and I can sense her concern and worry.

_"Then it is important for you to stay," _she says with a sigh. _"Stay safe then. The family's getting kind of boring without you around."_

_"Oh is that right?"_ I ask dryly, and she laughs at me. _"Yeah, you just laugh. Wait till I get back, then you won't be laughing."_

_"If you say so little Jari," _she replies dryly.

_"See you soon Sweetie Horns," _I tell her.

We share a quick 'mental' hug with each other across our bond before separating again. I open my eyes with a small smile, standing back to my feet. As time has gone on our Force bond has grown stronger, allowing us to even communicate with each other across star systems now. It's really quite amazing.

I head back out of the room, opening the door and stepping into the hallway. Glancing around, I notice Tenzin and Katara are headed my way, conversing with each other, and I quickly stop them.

"Hey. Katara and... Tenzin, right?" I ask him.

"Yes, that's us," Tenzin confirms with a nod.

"Do you need anything?" Katara asks curiously.

"No, I'm just here to let you in on something," I tell them, glancing around for a moment. "I'm about to start Caran's training a little bit, and I think it'd be important for me to let you know what I plan on doing."

"Why's that?" he asks me.

"I'm going to start by testing him, seeing how he acts so that I know how to properly train him," I say.

"And how are you planning on testing him?" Katara asks.

"By seeing how much it takes to piss him off," I state bluntly.

They both blink at me for a few moments in complete bafflement, confused and wary.

* * *

**Caran POV…**

"This is so exciting! You finally have a real teacher!" Jinora tells me excitedly.

"Yeah, almost hard to believe," I reply, rubbing my head.

"What do you think he's going to teach you? How to swing your laser sword? How to lift big rocks? How to push things?" Ikki asks quickly. "What do you think his planet is like? I bet it's full of rainbows and magical crystals! Do you think there are other people like the Messenger? Maybe he's attracted to someone! Do you think so? Huh? Huh?"

"Uhhh..." I start to say.

"I want to use his laser sword! Then I could take down all of my enemies!" Meelo exclaims fiercely.

"...is that such a good idea?" I ask quietly.

"Meelo, you're not getting a lightsaber," Jinora states with a frown.

"Why not? Why should you get to have one?" he demands.

"I'm not getting one either. We aren't Jedi," she says.

"Then why does he have one?" he retorts, pointing a finger at me.

"He is a Jedi though," Jinora corrects him.

I raise a finger to speak up in a technical term, but Meelo beats me to it.

"Not yet!" he states.

"I'm just, gonna go over here," I suggest meekly, getting up and scooting to the other side of the room.

Jinora quickly follows me, turning to glare at her younger siblings when they attempt to follow as well. Just then, are saving grace is when the door to our room is opened by Pema, who steps inside, carrying Rohan in her arms.

"Mom, Ikki and Meelo are annoying us. Can they go somewhere else?" Jinora asks pleadingly.

"Well as a matter of fact, I was coming to get them anyways," she remarks.

"Awww!" they both whine.

"Come on you two, I need you to help me with some things," she says.

Pema narrows her eyes dangerously at them when they start to protest. Seeing the look in her eyes makes them completely submissive, and they both reluctantly follow after her. Once they're gone, Jinora and I both sigh in relief, glancing at each other.

"Thank goodness for that," I mutter quietly.

"I feel the same. They're my siblings and I love them but... they're so annoying!" Jinora comments with a frown. Her expression then brightens up instantly as she looks at me. "So, what do you think you're going to learn from him?"

"I... don't know. I haven't really thought about it," I admit with a shrug. "I guess I would like to learn more about how to use the Force and how to fight with a lightsaber."

"You sound like Korra," she comments.

"Eh, family relationship," I state.

"What I would like to know more about is Jedi history and culture. I don't know much, but it seems really fascinating," she says, her eyes lighting up with wonder.

"I guess it would be cool to learn about that," I reply, not sure what else to say.

The door then slides open, revealing Korra leaning against the doorway with a hand on her hip, Luon standing behind her. I widen my eyes in alarm at the sight of them, a little worried, especially due to the knowing grin on Korra's face. Jinora also glances up anxiously, sensing trouble.

"Hey squirt! How's your date going?" she asks me.

"What?!" I ask incredulously.

"This isn't a date!" Jinora protests.

"Sure seems like it," Luon replies casually.

"Like you're ones to talk!" I retort. "I don't miss how you keep staring at each other."

"Nobody misses it squirt," she replies, looking at her nails in disinterest.

I groan in response, me and Jinora's faces red in embarrassment. I shove my face in my arms, muttering to myself about ending my suffering before popping back up again.

"By the way, we were talking about what I might learn from Jarik, if you must know!" I state.

"Yeah yeah, keep telling yourself squirt," she retorts. "Oh, I guess it's a good time for me to tell you that Jarik wants you up on the main deck."

"Is he gonna start training me?" I ask excitedly, forgetting my embarrassment briefly.

"Yeah. I don't know what he wants to do, but he's talked to Tenzin and Katara about it. They're being kind of quiet," Korra comments with a frown, shrugging.

"I don't care, I'm ready for this!" I state, jumping to my feet.

"Are you sure you guys don't need a few more moments with each other?" she suggests.

Jinora and I both glance at each other, groaning and slumping forwards while Korra and Luon both scamper away, laughing to themselves.

"You have annoying siblings. Mine is worse," I mutter.

"You're probably right," she replies in embarrassed agreement.

* * *

**3rd person POV...**

"Uh huh... got it. I'll be back within the next day."

With the call ended, Lin places the phone back on the desk and crosses her arms, thinking about what she heard. Tenzin was right beside her, waiting for the news from Republic City.

"Well? How are things?" he asks.

"The city seems to be alright, although leadership is very questionable at the moment," Lin admits.

"I don't know how the Council will recover after this attack," Tenzin replies uncertainly.

"Actually, the Council has been disbanded," she states.

"It has?" Tenzin asks, a little surprised. "I'm a bit surprised at that."

"Yeah, same," she nods in agreement. "Apparently this whole mess with the Anti-bending Revolution made a lot of people think. And since there were plenty of questionable decisions made by the Council regarding the situation, they decided it would be best to put a new leadership in place."

"I suppose that does make sense. Tarrlok did use the Council to his advantage, furthering his own interests," Tenzin says. "Not to mention all of the councilmembers were benders, which further cemented anti-bending sentiment."

"That's why some of the world leaders and politicians have gathered to put a new system in place," Lin begins to explain. "Instead of a council from each nation, the new leadership will be under the control of a democratic republic, led by a President elected by the people. Several senators have already put in their bids for a campaign. Election day is in two months."

"Wow. That fast?" he remarks in surprise. "Don't you think they need more time for their campaigns?"

"That's what I would think, but the people really need a leader, and so they've sped up the process, at least for this first election," she comments with a shrug.

"Who are the primary candidates?" he asks.

"Senator Raiko, a native of Republic City, along with Senator Shuno, who's also a native. They've quickly swept the rest of the candidates, so it's down to them," she informs him.

"Hmm. I know that both are very popular among the people. From what I know of Raiko he seems to have the correct interests, but he does have a habit of focusing too much on his own position as well," Tenzin comments thoughtfully. "As for Shuno, he's always been tough on cracking down on corruption and the bending triads. He'll definitely gain a lot of following amongst the poorer masses."

"I hope that whoever wins can get the city back on its feet," Lin comments, and Tenzin nods in agreement. "Speaking of which, how are things going with our new Jedi friend?"

"Oh yeah. As it turns out, he's going to start Caran's first lesson in just a moment," he tells her.

"Really? Well that's neat," she replies.

"Well, it is a questionable lesson to be honest," he admits.

"Why's that?" she asks him, frowning.

"Well... Jarik's goal right now is to see how mad he can make Caran," he informs her.

"What?" she questions in bewilderment, frowning with a sense of disapproval.

"Something about testing his limits," he shrugs in reply.

* * *

**Caran POV...**

Jinora and I follow Korra and Luon out to the main deck, where pretty much everyone else is waiting. Asami, Mako, and Bolin are also up there, chatting with each other, although their attention turns to us once we get up there.

"Dude! Are you ready to start some of your whole training thing?" Bolin asks with a wide grin on his face.

"Uh, yeah, definitely," I reply with a nod.

"I wonder what he's gonna teach you," he wonders curiously. He then starts making theories, using exaggerated movements to back them up. "How to lift giant rocks? The best way to use a lightsaber in combat? Oh! Maybe he can teach you how to make your own lightsaber!"

"Bolin, he already has one," Asami points out.

"So? He could use two! Jarik has two!" he argues.

"Speaking of which, where is he anyways?" Mako asks.

I look up at Korra and Luon, but she just shrugs cluelessly in response. "I don't know. He just said to be here."

The door from the cabins then opens, and we look over to see Tenzin, Lin and Katara walk outside, and they all stand off by the side. Lin seems to be in questionable discussion with Tenzin, although I can't really tell what, much to my surprise. I shrug it off once Jarik walks out after them. He starts walking to the other side of the deck near the bow, giving me a glance before continuing on his way. I furrow my brow in confusion as he stops near the edge and then sits down, leaning his back against the wall.

We remain in silence for a few moments, and I share a confused glance with Korra and Jinora, who both shrug back at me helplessly. I then look over at Jarik, who pulls out some sort of food bar, unwraps the covering, and begins chewing on it.

"Uhhh..." Bolin says quietly, hands on his chin with his eyes narrowed in a mixture of confusion and bewilderment.

Frowning, I glance over to Tenzin for some help, but he doesn't make eye contact with me. Well isn't that suspicious. Sighing, I start walking over to Jarik and come to a stop a couple feet away, sitting down in front of him. He still doesn't seem to be giving me any attention at all, further confusing me.

"Uhh... Jarik-?" I start to ask.

"It's Master," he interrupts irritably, picking at the bar. "The way it works is that the student was known as a Padawan, and they refer to their teachers, or Jedi ranking higher than them, as Master."

I blink in surprise at the serious, non-nonsense tone that almost sounds annoyed to be here. He takes another bite out of the strange food bar.

"Ok, sorry... master?" I say slowly, feeling a little awkward.

"What made him so rude?" I hear Bolin mutter to Luon.

"Alright, let's be serious for a moment," Jarik says, crumbling up the wrapping. "Why the heck are you even here?"

"Umm... sorry?" I ask in confusion.

"I said why the heck are you here? Are you deaf or something?" he asks again, frowning.

This is not something I was expecting at all, and I gotta say, it's kind of annoying.

"...because you asked me to be here. You're supposed to teach me, remember?" I state dryly.

He laughs in response.

"Don't be ridiculous, I don't have to teach you anything," he scoffs.

"What?" I hear Korra asks incredulously.

Glancing back, I notice her staring at Jarik like he's lost his mind, and I don't think she's too far off. However, Tenzin moves over to her and starts whispering something to them in a hushed voice.

"Hey, eyes on me kid," Jarik says.

"Sorry," I apologize.

He glares at me, and I grimace a little.

"Sorry, Master," I correct myself.

"Better," he says with a nod. "Like I was saying, I don't have to teach you anything."

"But you promised you would," I protest.

He glares at me again, and I scoff, feeling a little annoyed.

"What, is this like some sort of military camp now?" I ask incredulously.

"Stop making it out to be a joke kid, focus!" he snaps at me.

"I am though! I can't help it that you're suddenly being rude and annoying!" I retort.

"I didn't learn easy, so don't expect to as well," he tells me firmly. "You think you have what it takes to be a Jedi?"

"I fought the Messenger and prevented him from furthering his plan! I think that qualifies as being ready!" I shoot back angrily.

"Oh it does, doesn't it?" he asks sarcastically.

He suddenly stands to his feet, much to my surprise, and I quickly stand back up to my feet as well. He marches past me to the middle of the deck and turns to face me, a stern look on his face.

"Pull our your saber," he states.

"Huh?"

"I said pull out your lightsaber. Let's see how good you think you are," he repeats, narrowing his eyes. "Or are you afraid not to kid?"

I narrow my eyes back at him, surprisingly finding myself beginning to not like him so much. Why is he suddenly being such a jerk?! I take a step forwards and pull out my lightsaber, not yet activating the blade itself.

"This is ridiculous," I hear Lin mutter.

"Uhh... is this a good idea?" Jinora asks in concern.

"Just... let it play out," Tenzin says in exasperation.

"What if he gets hurt?" Korra asks worriedly.

"I've got this. He's just being a jerk," I state firmly, glaring at him.

"Oh really? I highly doubt that," he replies with disinterest, and I fume at him. "Before we start though, turn the dial on the back."

"What for?" I demand.

"What was that?" he asks angrily, glaring at me. "Remember what I told you!"

I fine silently in anger, before exhaling heavily. "What for, _M__aster_?"

"That's better," he says with a nod. "Turn the dial to lower the saber's power setting. That'll make it nonlethal."

I blink in surprise, glancing at he dial he was referring to, and then turn it.

"You can change it's intensity?" Asami asks curiously.

"Obviously," Jarik drawls, and Asami frowns. "Come on kid, do your worst."

I narrow my eyes and activate my lightsaber. This time the blade seems different, a lot more green than before, the white plasma in the center not as prominent. It also sounds a bit different with the humming. Guess it did lower the setting.

Shaking my head, I look up at Jarik to see him standing there with his arms, crossed, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Well? What're you waiting for? Stop being so slow," he scoffs.

Grumbling to myself, I point my lightsaber at him and then run forwards, charging for an attack. He still continues to stand there though, and I swing my lightsaber at him. He quickly ducks underneath the attack, popping up behind me. I go to swing at him, but he evades faster than I can spot him. Before I know it, I'm shoved to the ground and fall flat at my face, groaning.

"Seriously? I've seen younglings do better," he remarks.

Scowling, I turn around and get to my feet, swinging my lightsaber at him again. The next few swings I do as fast as possible, but he just leans away or ducks under them, grabbing my hand and then pushing me away again.

"This is just sad. You look like a bumbling Jawa," he says.

"What the heck does that even mean?" I demand angrily.

"It's a short, stubby, and irritating creature!" he shoots back loudly.

Growling in my throat, I charge forwards again, jumping into the air and bringing my lightsaber down hard. He just dashed forwards underneath me with a roll, and pops up on the other side. I swiftly turn to face him, thrusting my arm out for a Force push. To my surprise, all that happens is his cloak flutters.

"I'm sorry, someone must've left the window open! It feels kind of a little drafty here!" he taunts.

Bringing back both arms, I shove them forwards with a scowl, going for another Force push. I gather a large amount of Force energy that I could feel costing through me and the planet, and throw it forwards. However he leaps to the side and pops up with a roll, narrowly avoiding it.

"Eh. Try harder," he says casually.

He then draws out one of his lightsabers, activating it to reveal a brilliant golden blade. He holds it up before pointing it at me with a flourishing twirl. I have at the color for a moment, the others most likely as well, but I quickly shake my head and charge at him, swinging my lightsaber hard. He raises his lightsaber to block it, deflecting my blade with one arm. I swing faster horizontally and vertically, pressing forwards. He calmly backs up a few times, deflecting or evading my strikes. Entering a quick blade lock, he twirls the sabers to make me stumble, and then shoves me to the ground.

"You don't have the skill to defeat the Messenger on your own! You had help didn't you?" he says loudly.

"No I didn't!" I exclaim, turning around and swinging hard.

He bats my lightsaber to the ground and then casually shoved me away with a Force push. I slid across the deck for a couple of feet, looking up at him.

"Oh please. Either the Messenger is a horrible fighter like you, or your tiny pathetic self received help against him," he retorts.

"Hey!" Korra exclaims angrily, but Tenzin shushes her.

"I fought him by myself!" I yell, leaping forwards.

He just sidesteps out of my way, and I stumble onto the deck yet again.

"Nope, you had help," he disagrees. "You have absolutely no technique."

Glaring at him, I jump to my feet and charges forwards again, raising my lightsaber and swinging down with a yell. He easily blocks my strike and then grabs my arm with his left, yanking me closer to glare down at my eyes.

"You think you can win just by relying on Qui-Gon to direct your movements? If you're going to be a Jedi, you have to actually do something for it!" he states fiercely.

"W-what?" I demand angrily.

"You heard me. Show me some kriffing talent!" he exclaims, shoving me back.

With a furious yell, I jump back to my feet, using my anger and irritation at all of his comments to fuel my next few attacks. I strike fast and hard, swinging my lightsaber as fast as I can, growling with each strike. Eventually though, he ducks underneath and twirls upwards to hit me in the jaw with his arm, sending me tumbling to the ground, lightsaber falling from my grip. He calls the saber into his other hand before standing over me, pointing both lightsabers at my throat, and I look up fearfully.

"Rule number one of battle," Jarik growls, leaning closer and causing me to flinch. "Never use your anger like that."

I look up in surprise at the sudden softness of his tone, and see him smiling at me. He deactivated his lightsaber and reaches down his right hand. I glance at it cautiously before grabbing it, allowing him to pull me up to my feet.

"Wait, what just happened?" Bolin asks, confused.

I realize that everyone else was tense and ready to jump in, faltering upon Jarik's sudden change of mood.

"How's your jaw?" Jarik asks in concern.

I rub it with a grimace, glancing up at him.

"It's alright..." I reply slowly.

"That's good. So, what did you learn today?" he asks me.

"Huh?" I reply, confused.

"What did you learn from this?" Jarik repeats, waiting patiently.

"I don't... I don't know," I shrug helplessly, still wary.

"You let your anger control your actions Caran," he states. "By doing so, you became distracted and confused, which helped bring about your downfall."

"Wait... you were being a jerk on purpose?" I ask incredulously.

"Of course I was," he replies. "That was the point of this lesson: me being a jerk."

"But... why?" I ask, confused.

"To see how well you do managing your rage," he explains. "When fighting someone, your mental capability is just as important as your physical capability. Learning to control your emotions during a fight is key in staying focused."

"I'm guessing I failed then," I reply bitterly.

"No you didn't. Today was about seeing how well you could manage it. The goal is to help teach you to control your emotions during battle. If you don't learn to, it doesn't matter how skilled of a fighter you are," he explains. "You'd lose either way."

I look at him and nod in understanding, no longer angry at him or feeling a sense of hate. It does make perfect sense after all.

"So Caran..." he says, holding my lightsaber out. "How much are you willing to take?"

I look at the lightsaber for a moment before grinning, nodding my head and accepting it.

"Great," Jarik says happily. "Alright, lesson is over. We will continue when we arrive."

He starts walking away, much to my surprise and confusion.

"Wait, what?" I ask, disappointed.

"Another important thing you should have," Jarik says, stopping at the door. "Patience."

He then closes it, leaving the rest of the deck in silence.

"Well that was different," Korra comments.

"Dude, he just beat you like nothing!" Bolin exclaims.

"Bro, not helping him," Mako says.

"Eh it's fine," I shrug.

"He is right. Controlling your anger is very important. All of us should be able to do so," Tenzin says, giving a pointed look to someone. "I know a few people who still need help with that."

"Well..." Korra starts, before Luon nudges her. "Yeah, you're probably right."

Lin scoffs, crossing her arms while Katara smiles in amusement.

"I'm kinda interested about how these lightsabers work," Asami remarks.

"Well, I'm sure you can ask Jarik about it," Katara replies.

"I honestly don't know what to think," Jinora shrugs.

* * *

**_United Republic of Nations - Reylea_**

**3rd person POV...**

The Messenger waits in the dark of night in the middle of the forest, tapping his foot impatiently. He was waiting for Vyra to arrive, and kept constantly glancing over his shoulder in paranoia, worried that some snooper would happen across the meeting spot. Eventually, the rumbling of a ship's engine brings his focus upwards, and he watches as Vyra's TIE Silencer came in for a landing. The dark hull of the ship contrasted brilliantly with the red glow of the cockpit, and the ship landed with the back facing him.

Reluctantly, the Messenger bows on the ground as the ship's hatch opens, allowing Vyra to step out. The yellow twi'lek was abnormally tall for one of her species and gender, reaching at least 6 feet and 4 inches in height. At the end of her fingers she had sharp nails capable of slashing the throats of a normal human. Her skin matched the color of her glowing yellow eyes, and she gazes down at Messenger with a small amount of contempt.

"Get up," she states calmly.

The Messenger does so, grimacing at the small amount of bite he heard in her tone. With him standing back on his feet, Vyra takes notice of the lightsaber mark on the Messenger's reptilian face with a scoff, and crosses her arms.

"So you even let the boy get a strike at you?" she questions.

"He surprised me," he growls out.

"Clearly," she replies, voice dripping with sarcasm and contempt. "Well now things have gotten a lot more difficult for you. Jarik Shan has arrived."

"Already?" he replies.

"Yes. We must develop a new strategy. I hope this criminal mastermind of yours knows what he's doing," she tells him.

"He lives to cause chaos. He'll serve us well," he replies, frowning in annoyance. "But if Shan is here, why not attack him before he expects it? He won't see us coming."

Vyra storms right up to the Messenger with a glare on her face, towering over him. He steps back uneasily, freezing when she lays a hand on his shoulder and leans down with a scowl.

"I will have you know right now Scar'lok, that Snoke has trained me since birth as a replacement to his former apprentice, and he expects results. The New Jedi Order, and the New Republic are weak, but Shan is not! I am the Master of the Knights of Ren, which includes you! So you will be following my lead from now on. Is that clear?!"

Messenger glances at his hand, grimacing when she pokes his shoulder painfully with her long nails, before reluctantly nodding, scowling right back.

"Very clear," he says lowly.

Vyra releases him and then begins walking right past him. He watches her with a furious scowl on his face, fingers itching to reach out and cut her down with his lightsaber. He holds himself back, knowing that she is more powerful than him.

"So, if we're done playing games, Scar'lok," she says, glancing back at him. "I would like to assess the skills of this, 'Joker,' for myself."

He nods his head slowly and then walks forwards, moving past her and towards Republic City. The TIE Silencer cloaks itself after Vyra pushes a button.


	2. Chapter 2 - Learning About the Force

**_Warehouse, Republic City - Reylea_**

**3rd person POV...**

"So, where is your criminal mastermind?" Vyra questions.

"He said he would be here," Messenger replies stiffly.

"If you say so," Vyra sighs in response, picking at her sharp nails. "I do so hate it when people turn out to be disappointing."

The door at the other end of the dimly lit room suddenly opens, and a man strides in, flanked by two thugs. The two thugs stop after a few steps, both getting in defensive stances at the sight of he two Knights of Ren, one letting fire fill is fist while the other readies water from his pouch. However he man in the middle gestures both of them to stop, and then moves forwards, walking with a slight hunch

As he starts coming into the dim light, occasionally skipping his feet while casually humming and flicking a small knife in his hands, Vyra takes a moment to observe him. He's wearing an old purple suit with a dirty green undershirt and tie. His face is covered in white paint, with red on his lips to create a grotesque smile, and a lot of black mascara around his eyes. The paint is messily applied, but that, along with the two scars on both sides of his mouth, does its job of unsettling anyone to cross his path.

Except for Vyra of course.

The whole get up is finished off with long and dirty hair, dyed with a dark green and black color. Seeing through the Force. Vyra could sense that the man was definitely insane, but it was controlled insanity. She could tell instantly that he was also very smart about what he did, and could do it well. He was also a nonbender, yet any person who crossed his path feared him.

He seemingly giggles like an child, stopping a couple feet away from them.

"Oh, that's fantastic. I quite feel the same way about people," he remarks, licking his lips.

"So, I assume you're the Joker?" Vyra asks, crossing her arms.

"Hmm hmm. I'm guessing you're Messenger's, uh, boss? Something like that," he replies.

"I am the one in charge here, yes," she confirms with a nod.

"Geez, you guys look absolutely freaky!" Joker remarks, making a face at them. "I heard what you actually look like Messenger but... wow!"

"If you're done fooling around-" Messenger starts to growl out.

"Oh relax, I don't really care. I'm already _craazzy _myself!" he interrupts, chuckling. "We're all freaks here."

Messenger huffs in irritation before sighing, getting down to business. "We brought a few things to help you out Joker."

He pulls forwards a small crate, and the Joker looks at it with interest. Messenger then flips open the crate, revealing an assortment of high-tech weapons. There's a blaster pistol, a few short rifles, and even a rocket launcher. The Joker stares at the weapons with awe and eager delight, moving forwards to pick up the pistol.

"Well doesn't this look delightful," Joker remarks.

He points the blaster at the wall and pulls the trigger. A red laser bolt is shot out, causing him to stumble briefly at the familiar sensation, and impacts against the wall. He looks at the burn mark before grinning, looking over the blaster.

"Oh this I can definitely work with," he says. "You have a request for payment?"

"No," Messenger says.

"That's fine. I wouldn't have given it anyways," he shrugs in reply, licking his lips again.

"If we wanted money for this, we wouldn't have asked Joker," Vyra says in a warning tone.

"Oooh! Threatening me huh? Very dangerous person aren't you? I like that," Joker comments, running a finger along the blaster. "However, I did hear that you guys apparently want to bring some sort of army here, in order to conquer us all..."

"Are you backing out?" Vyra demands dangerously. "Doing so would not end well for you."

"Oh, what, are you kidding? Of course not!" Joker laughs, snickering in amusement. "I don't care, bring as many people as you want! The only thing I care about is that I show people who really runs this town."

Vyra nods in approval.

"Good. The important thing that I ask is that you cause as much trouble for the Avatar and the Jedi as possible. We need time to prepare," she states.

"Eh, I'm fine with anything at this point," Joker shrugs carelessly, licking his lips again. "Ripping off the bending triads has gotten so... boring lately."

"I can assure you, what you're about to do will not be boring," she states confidently.

"Yeah, I've got a better plan in mind than simply using a laser sword to go after a kid," he comments.

The Messenger scowls in irritation, but a sharp look from Vyra keeps him quiet.

"I guess I could begin the fun with a little... aggressive, expansion!" Joker states, smirking eagerly.

* * *

**_Air Temple Island - Republic City_**

**Caran POV...**

Earlier this morning we finally arrived back on Air Temple Island, and exited the ship with plenty of excitement. Well, for us younger people anyways. Jarik, Tenzin, Katara, and Lin were all impassive about it, although Katara was smiling, and Jarik had a look of curiosity on his face at the sight of Republic City.

Of course Lin went right to business, stating that she had to head to the City to help the authorities regain some control and formality in Republic City, the place still a bit of a mess after the Anti-bending Revolution. Speaking of which, she also asked Korra to come with her, ask being an understatement. Since so many people had their bending removed, it would be her job to return it to them since, obviously no one else can.

Korra had sighed in exhaustion but went along with Lin, and Luon and the rest of Team Avatar went with her as well. I would've gone, but Tenzin firmly stopped me, stating that I had to begin my training with Jarik, who nodded his head in agreement. I pouted for a little bit, but relented and stayed behind.

Which is what brings me outside right now. Walking across the courtyard, I was looking for Jinora to do whatever, when I noticed Jarik nearby.

He was sitting on a boulder next to the trees near the edge of the courtyard. In his hands he was holding his golden mask, and scrubbing at it with a cloth, probably cleaning it.

Curious, I change directions instead and walk over to him.

"Hi," I greet him.

"Hello," he replies.

"That's your mask?" I ask him, gesturing to it.

"Yeah. Used to belong to one of my ancestors, who was a very famous and powerful Jedi in his day," he explains, holding it up to see if the light shined on it. "I found it some time back, and decided to keep it."

"It looks so solid..." I remark curiously. "How'd you get it to... slide off the way it did?"

"You mean this?" he asks.

Jarik pulls the cloth away from the mask for a moment, and then it completely dissolves like a stream of liquid metal, compacting into a small necklace. I widen my eyes at he sight and nod my head.

"Yeah, that," I reply with a sense of wonder.

"Carrying a mask with me on my belt all the time was getting really annoying, so I melted it down and used the meta to remake it with nanotech," he explains. "Basically it's a bunch of tiny machinery that can form whatever it's programmed to, within reason."

"Wow..." I murmur in awe. "Asami would have a freakout with that stuff."

"The rich girl?" he asks.

"Yeah. She's really good at fighting though, so don't take her lightly," I advise him.

He chuckles in response. "I don't doubt it for a second."

Jarik places the necklace onto the rock beside him, and it reforms into his golden mask. I stare at it for a long moment, still baffled that things like that could be made.

* * *

**_Meditation Pavillion..._**

Jarik moves over to stand on the other side of the Meditation Pavillion, gesturing down in the center. A short, flat boulder was placed there, acting like some sort of seat or platform. I look at it curiously for a moment, wondering how it got here, before shrugging it off.

Behind me, Tenzin moves forwards to stand at the side of the pavillion so he could observe, along with Jinora as well. She was really interested in learning more about the Force and the Jedi, and cane along. Korra would be here as well, but she's out and restoring the bending of everyone who lost it to Amon.

"Alright Caran, first lesson on the Force. Sit here, legs crossed," Jarik says.

I do as he says, sitting down in the center of the rock and crossing my legs, looking up at him.

"How much do you know about the Force?" he asks. I frown thoughtfully, thinking for a moment.

"Well, I do know that there are two sides, a light side and a dark side. Jedi use the light while Sith use the dark," I recall. "I think it's could be some sort of rare bending power that only a small amount of people have, but I'm not sure. It is very strong though, and I can use it to find people and animals, and other things. And also use it to push people."

He nods his head. "Not bad. You're wrong on most of that, but not bad."

My expression falls to one of annoyance and I look up at him as he moves forwards.

"First thing: the Force is not a bending power. It's not about pushing people, or sensing other life forms," he states. "It's the energy between all living things, spread across the universe. Everyone possesses a connection to it."

"Everyone?" I ask in surprise.

I could sense Tenzin and Jinora's curiosity spike, but remain focused on Jarik, confused.

"What do you mean? No one else can use it," I point out.

"Whether you can use it or not doesn't determine if its there, because it is," he replies. "The Force is a part of every living organism, but only a select few are born with more sensitivity to it. You are one of those select few."

"So... all of us are connected to the Force?" Jinora asks. "Even me?"

Jarik nods his head in confirmation. "Yes. From the smallest insect, to the largest trees and animals."

Tenzin strokes his beard with a thoughtful hum, while Jinora looks on with curiosity and intense interest. She's even holding a small notebook in her hand to take notes!

Refocusing back on Jarik, I think about what he's said about the Force, still a bit confused.

"So, if the Force isn't a bending power... what is it?" I ask him.

"Like I said, the Force is the energy between all living things. It's an energy field that binds the universe together," he explains. "I'll admit I haven't been here long enough to know much about bending, but from what I've noticed is that they're similar."

"How?" I ask him

"What are the different elements?" he says in reply.

"Water, Earth, Fire, and Air," I answer easily.

"And what determines who becomes a bender, and who doesn't?" he asks.

I frown for a moment, shrugging my shoulders. "I don't know. People are just... born with it."

"The type of element a person is born with depends on which nation they're from," Jinora adds.

"What does this have to do with the Force though?" I ask, confused.

"Oh, a whole lot," he replies. "Something I've noticed, is that bending feels closely related to the Force. It's not the same, but it is similar."

"How do you mean?" Tenzin asks him.

"Reylea is extremely powerful in the Force, something you already know," he states. "What made it so, I have no idea. But I do think that the energy of the planet evolved over time, changing the Force into what you know as bending."

"Seriously?" I ask in surprise.

"It's a theory, but that's what it feels like to me," he replies.

"That... actually kind of makes sense," I admit.

I honestly don't know what to think about this, as it makes sense, yet I can't exactly explain why it seems to make sense.

"How did you come to his conclusion?" Tenzin asks. "I would've never figured that."

"When you're as powerful as me, especially on a planet like this, picking things up through the Force is as easy as reading an open book," he shrugs in reply.

"Really? It's never been that easy for me..." I comment with a frown. "Even after I got that power boost or whatever."

Jarik looks at me for a moment, frowning in thought.

"Well, I'd imagine it's because you aren't as gifted in the Force as most," he theorizes. "On Reylea, you definitely seem stronger than the average Jedi Knight. But off of it... about the same level of a young king, maybe even weaker. The Old Jedi Order probably wouldn't have accepted you into their ranks."

"Well that stinks," I murmur glumly.

"I wouldn't worry too hard about it," he reassures me. "You can still grow stronger with training and time. It's just that you have more limitations than most."

I nod my head in response, feeling a little bit better about it.

"Now Caran, this lesson will be to help learn how sensitive you are," he says, and I nod in understanding. "Close your eyes. Breathe."

I do as he says, closing my eyes and then taking in a deep breath, allowing myself to remain calm and collected.

"Now, reach out," he says.

Listening to what he's saying, I stretch my arm out in front of me, my hand up and open. I remain in that position, waiting to see if he wanted me to feel for something and point to it, or maybe move something, or whatever. To my confusion I sense what seems to be exasperation, amusement, and annoyance from the others, Jinora mostly amused.

The silence starts leavin me puzzled, but before I could ask about it, I feel a light tingling on my hand, and focus in on it. The feeling grows a little more, and I allow myself a small smile.

"I think I can feel it," I tell him.

"Really?" Jarik asks with interest.

"Yeah, it feelings kind of tingling!" I explain.

A little bit different from what I've felt before, but other times I've used the Force it was a little similar.

"That's the Force!" he says excitedly.

"Really?!" I ask eagerly.

"No!"

Something then slaps my hand sharply and I recoil back, instantly pulling my hand away and opening my eyes. I shake my hand with a shocked and pained expression, my hand stinging, and look up at him incredulously.

"Ow! What was that for?" I ask incredulously.

Jarik raises his eyebrows and gives me a look, tilting his head a little bit. In his hand he's holding a large leaf. Off to the side, Jinora is unable to control her giggling, while Tenzin sighs, shaking his head. Slowly realizing what he meant, I start turning a little red and look back sheepishly.

"Oh... you meant, like..." I trail off.

He gives me another sarcastic look, widening his eyes even more as if I had come up with some amazing idea.

"I'll, try again," I mumble in embarrassment.

At least Korra's not here to make fun of me...

Jarik rolls his eyes and tosses the leaf to the side, shaking his head in exasperation. I close my eyes again, and he moves forwards, holding my hand to the ground to prevent me from lifting it again.

"Breathe. Reach out with the Force. Focus on your surroundings, and what you can feel," he instructs me. "What do you see?"

Breathing again, I focus on the Force like he's instructing me and start to feel with it, like I've done before when Tenzin was teaching me. I can feel the usual, warm field of energy that I know is the Force, from what I've felt before. I try stretching out with my senses, attempting to focus on something to see.

"Don't focus on anything specific Caran," he immediately says. "Stretch your senses out aimlessly, like water on a flat plain. Don't think about it. Just feel it."

I can't help but compare how similar that last line is to something Qui-Gon has said before.

Still, I take in his advice and breathe again, stretching out with the Force. I try not to think about it, just feeling out with it.

"What do you see?" he asks me.

At first everything seems normal, and all I can see is the darkness of my closed eyelids. Then something starts to appear before my eyes, even though they're closed. I start seeing things, and I can feel them as well.

"Life..." I tell him, sensing the different plants and animals nearby.

"Light... heat... I can see Air Temple Island," I tell him.

"Good. What else?" Jarik asks.

Focusing a little more, several images come to me, seeming a lot more alive than the others, and a lot more active. Many of them are moving around, some glowing brighter than others. Right beside me is a very bright presence, almost like a sun.

"I think I see people. You're really bright... like a sun," I say quietly. "Some feel cool and wavy... others sturdy, and some flaring up erratically..."

I slow to a stop as I notice an extremely bright object, glaring at me with radiant, white-blue light. It's somewhere within the city, and every half minute or so it would brighten, and the decrease back to normal.

"I think I can see Korra... she's bright, brighter than the sun," I say.

"And what flows through, and beneath, Korra?" he asks me.

Turning my gaze a little downwards, I notice a thin strand of wispy white light traveling down, only to be met with the brightest light of all. The light is enormous, and extremely bright. I can practically feel everything shaking with power, flowing with the force of an unstoppable hurricane.

"Power..." I say, a little awed. "I think that's Reylea. It's just... the Force."

"And what does that Force feel like?" Jarik asks.

"Warm, comforting... but powerful, like a hurricane. It feels, balanced," I state.

"Like the pure Force itself," Jarik says. "Powerful light, and powerful dark. Winding around each other in a cycle of balance."

Something feels cold all of a sudden, and I focus in on it, frowning uneasily at the feeling. This isn't comforting at all, but a sharp, bone-chilling cold.

"There's something else..." I add, a bit nervous. "It feels cold."

"Cold?" he asks me.

"It feels unnatural... and angry," I tell him uneasily.

The cold darkness in my vision then seems to take notice of me, and begins to surge forth in my direction. I begin to panic a little bit as everything instantly becomes colder, becoming afraid.

"It's coming at me!" I say fearfully.

"Fight it back Caran," Jarik says firmly. "Don't give into it."

I try to show it back, bringing the energy of the Force around me to block it, but the billowing darkness continues to shove its way forwards, desperate to get at me. Within my mind I could see something... like a person, but with yellowish skin and glowing, yellow eyes.

I try and protect myself, attempting to push it away from my mind with the Force, but I couldn't hold it back. Just as I thought the darkness was about to overtake me a ray of warm, fiery light cuts through the darkness and forcefully expels it. The dark clouds flee, disappearing into the distance, and I open my eyes.

With a shocked and heaving gasp, I fall forwards, but Jarik catches me before I could fall off the rock, and helps to steady me.

"Easy Caran," he says.

Jinora and Tenzin had both moved forwards, and were hovering beside me in deep concern and fear.

"Are you alright Caran?" Jinora asks worriedly.

"I- I don't know," I reply shakily, still breathing heavily. "I think I'm better."

"What happened?" Tenzin asks.

"There was some... dark cloud, it came after me," I explain uneasily, looking up at Jarik. "What was it?"

"Someone attempted to assault your mind with the Force. They won't be trying it again anytime soon," he explains.

"Was it Snoke?" Tenzin asks.

Jarik shakes his head. "No, it wasn't. I dispelled their attack fairly easily, although they were surprised. If this was Snoke's doing then we'd be going through the same thing as last time."

"Could it have been the Messenger?" Jinora asks.

"Maybe, but I'm not sure," he admits.

"I thought I saw a person in the smoke," I say, getting their attention. "I couldn't make much out but they had yellow eyes like the Messenger, only their skin was yellow."

Jarik frowns, thinking for a moment before sighing grimly.

"I think I know who you're referring to," he says.

"You do?" Tenzin asks in surprise.

"The description is pretty vague, but it could've been Vyra Ren, Snoke's apprentice," he theorizes.

"I thought the Messenger was Snoke's apparentice," Jinora says with a confused frown.

"No, he's more likely one of the Knights of Ren, a group of dark Force users that serve Snoke. Vyra is their Master," he explains.

"How much do you know about these Knights of Ren?" Tenzin questions.

"Not as much as I'd like," Jarik admits bitterly. "I've tried to uncover more about them, but information is really hard to come by. I don't even know how many Knights there are."

"Do you think Vyra is gonna come after Caran?"

Jinora asks worriedly, holding my hand.

I'm really touched by the concern she's showing, but at the moment I'm more focused on Jarik.

"Not directly, since she's not stupid enough to do so," he says. "But she'll definitely be after both Caran and Korra."

"So now we have two Force users to worry about," Tenzin sighs. "I better warn Lin about the presence of a second."

"Tell her to be wary," Jarik advises. "Vyra is much more dangerous."

* * *

**_Republic City Hall - Republic City_**

**Korra POV...**

I feel a rush of power flowing through me once again, and my eyes glow brightly as I let th energy flow into the man kneeling before me. Once his chi is unlocked, and his bending restored, I stumble back a little bit in exhaustion, and Luon helps to steady me.

The man stands back to his feet and then opens his hand, his expression filled with pure joy once a small flame appears.

"Thanks you! Thank you so much Avatar Korra!" He exclaims gratefully.

"No problem," I mumble tiredly, sending him the best smile I could give.

As he walks off, I get a sight of the still massive line of people in front of me, and can't help but moan quietly in exhaustion and glumness. To my great relief however, Lin seems to take notice and steps forwards before the next person could move up to me.

"Sorry everyone, but that's the limit for today. Come back tomorrow at the same time," she says.

There's a lot of protests and disappointed shouting, but Lin is completely firm and doesn't budge, while Luon helps support me away.

"You look exhausted," he remarks.

"Ugh. How did Amon even have the energy to take away so many people's bending?" I groan.

"Beats me," he shrugs.

Moving inside City Hall, I collapse into a nearby chair with a heavy sigh, and Asami, Bolin and Mako come over.

"Hey Korra," Asami greets.

"Hey," I reply.

"You look exhausted," Mako remarks.

"Understatement of the year," I groan in response.

"I'd be exhausted too! You had to restore the bending for like, several dozens of people right?" Bolin asks.

"Try hundreds," I murmur.

Bolin blinks in surprise. "Oh, wow, that's a lot. At least you're done now though right? That's something to be happy about!"

Lin then appears beside us with her usual impassive expression.

"Hate to tell you this, but there are still about 600 recorded people left that have lost their bending to Amon," she states.

I groan loudly to express my dismay and annoyance, while the others look at her in surprise.

"Really? Amon took away the bending of that many people?" Asami asks incredulously.

"How did that guy even manage to get to so many?!" Bolin shrieks in disbelief. "That's insanity!"

"Guess we should be glad the Messenger can't get his hands on him anymore," Mako comments, crossing his arms.

"Huh? Why's that?" Bolin asks.

"Dude, you don't know?" Luon asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Know what?" he asks cluelessly.

"Caran told us that he sensed when Amon and Tarrlok died, remember?" Mako reminds him.

"General Iroh's fleet found the floating remains of their boat when they were leaving, and evidence suggests that Amon and Tarrlok were aboard when it exploded," Lin adds with a frown. "Although the explosion didn't appear to be an accident."

"Oh..." Bolin says, chuckling sheepishly. "I knew that."

"However it happened, at least we don't have to worry about them anymore," Luon says.

"Yeah, now we have to clean up his mess," Mako says glumly.

"We?!" I demand with a raised eyebrow.

Mako widens his eyes in alarm and gives me a sheepish look, looking nervously into his hand. "Heh, I meant to say you."

"Right," I drawl sarcastically.

"That's a smart thing to say," Asami scoffs in amusement.

"Well- I- uhhhh..." Mako stutters before groaning in defeat.

"And I have to restore the bending of every, single, one," I groan in complaint. "Caran defeats the Messenger, and gets to be trained by a living legend! I defeat Amon, only to do what is essentially manual labor for people."

"Uh-" Luon starts.

"Not that there's anything wrong with it!" I add irritably. "It just seems really unfair."

"Life isn't fair. Get used to it," Lin states unforgivingly.

I roll my eyes at her usual behavior, but otherwise don't bother to give a retort.

"Well, I can't say I envy you," Luon shrugs.

"Wow. You're such a supportive boyfriend," I mutter, sending him a dark look.

He shrugs uncaringly in response. "Eh, I do my best."

The sound of footsteps gain our attention, and we look over to see a small group of business-like people walking by in hushed discussion. The man in the front then glances over, taking notice of me. He seems to be about in his thirties or so, with light brown hair and almond colored, giving him an Earth Kingdom look. He's also wearing a simple, but fancy suit coat and tie with small amounts of dark green to further prove he seems like someone from the Earth Kingdom.

"Hi there," he greets politely, a smile on his face as he looks over at me. "Avatar Korra, right?"

"If you need your bending restored, could it wait?" I blurt out, a little bitter.

Probably not the best first impression to give, and not very polite either. I suppose some of the blame can be placed on my crankiness from being so exhausted. fortunately, he seems to take it in stride and chuckles lightly in response.

"No, that's not an issue. I don't have any bending to restore anyways," he replies.

I widen my eyes in panic mode, realizing what I just said. The fact that Lin is giving me the death glare while the others share uneasy looks with each other just adds to the feeling.

"Oh spirits, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to say that, I just wasn't thinking straight," I quickly apologize.

"It's nothing to worry about. I've had my fair share of stressful days," he says reassuringly.

"Korra. All of you," Lin tells us, shooting another glare my way. "This is Senator Shuno, one of the candidates for the presidential election."

Hearing this, we all share quick looks of surprise and interest before refocusing on Senator Shuno, and my embarrassment and shame grows even more, causing my face to turn a little red. Well isn't this just fantastic: my first words to a presidential candidate are basically the equivalent of 'go screw yourself.'

"It's nice to meet all of you," Senator Shuno says with a nod.

"It's nice to meet you too Senator," Asami replies politely.

I quickly stand up from my chair, although too quickly as my vision goes fuzzy from the sudden standing movement, and turn to face him while smoothing out my jacket.

"Nice to meet you as well. I'm Avatar Korra," I try to say more politely, grimacing a little bit. "Is there something you needed?"

"I just thought I'd come over to introduce myself, and also thank you all for the effort and work you put in to help end the Anti-bending Revolution," he tells us.

"Oh. Well, thanks, I guess," I reply sheepishly.

"What about your brother? Is he around as well?" he asks curiously.

"He's..." I reply, noticing a glance from Lin. "Busy on the island right now."

He nods back in reply. "Well, tell him the same thing as well. I'm sure it wasn't easy defeating that alien."

"No it wasn't," I reply in agreement.

Until we get Lin and Tenzin's say-so, they want to keep the existence of Jarik a secret until things calm down. People probably wouldn't react very well to having another Force-user after the Messenger.

"Until next time then," Shuno says, giving us a nod. "Chief Beifong."

Lin nods at him in reply, and he walks back over to his small group of aides, or politicians, or whatever, and they continue on their way. Once they're gone, we turn to look at Lin.

"That's the guy who's gonna become president?" I ask her.

"He's a primary candidate," she replies. "The other potential president-elect is Senator Raiko."

"Senator Raiko?" Asami asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Who's he?" Bolin asks.

"Just some politician. My... dad, didn't really like him too much," Asami explains, frowning uneasily. "I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing."

"Hmm... maybe that could be a good thing! An equality not liking someone means that they're good, right?" Bolin offers optimistically.

"I think Shuno is gonna win. A lot of people where I grew up preferred him because he actually goes hard on exposing the triads," Luon says.

"Unlike the City Council," Mako comments dryly, crossing his arms.

Just then, Saikhan appears in the building and walks over to us, more specifically Beifong, in an urgent manner. The metalbending police are the first ones who I restored their bending to, since they're well, the police. I still didn't like him too much, but since Lin wanted me to I just went along with it.

"Chief Beifong," he greets formally.

"What is it Saikhan?" she asks.

"We just received an urgent phone call from Tenzin. He wanted us to let you know right away," he says.

"Tenzin?" Lin asks with a frown. "What would he need to be so urgent about?"

Saikhan glances at me before replying. "He says that they just learned that there's a second Force-user on the loose in the city, and they're allied with the Messenger."

"What?!" we all ask incredulously.

I instantly get to my feet, a surge of adrenaline and anxiety dispelling my exhaustion. How could there be another one?!

"Did he have any details?" Lin questions firmly.

Saikhan nods in confirmation. "Yes. He said that the Force-user is a female yellow skinned alien with, 'head-tails,' named Vyra Ren, and is much more dangerous than the Messenger, who apparently ranks lower in hierarchy than her."

So not only do we have to deal with another Force-user now after the chaos with the Messenger, but they're also more powerful and dangerous?

"When could they have gotten here?!" Luon asks uneasily.

"Uh, can we panic? At least a little bit?" Bolin meekly asks.

"If this is true, then keep the force on high alert. Any sign of the Messenger or this 'Vyra' should be reported directly to me or Tenzin. Do not engage," Lin states with a hard look. "I don't want to take our chances with these two when we don't know how to properly fight them."

Saikhan nods in understanding and then turns away. The rest of us all look at each other in worry and fear, appalled by this news.

"So there's another Force-user now?" Asami says.

"As if the Messenger wasn't bad enough," Mako adds warily.

"Not to mention Vyra is supposed to be more dangerous," Luon points out.

"I hope Caran's ok," I say worriedly.

"How did he find out there's another one?" Bolin asks.

"I guess he or Jarik sensed her or something," I shrug helplessly in response.

"However this happened, this just means we have to be much more cautious," Lin says, getting our attention.

"As I told Saikhan, I don't want any of you going after these Force-users without backup, especially you four," she states, gesturing at Luon, Asami, Mako and Bolin. "Korra, you may have a chance but I'm not betting on it. From what we know Jarik is the only one who can properly fight these guys, so we'll have to follow his lead."

"You sure we can't try with all of us together? We beat the Messenger that way," I point out.

"Yes, but remember what Jarik told us about how strong a Force-user is here," she reminds us. "Not to mention that Vyra is supposed to be more powerful than the Messenger."

"Alright, we get it," Luon says.

"It's just raining Force people all the time now!" Bolin says.

I glance at the others worriedly, Luon, Asami, And Mako all sharing the same concerned look.

* * *

**_Air Temple Island - Republic City_**

**Caran POV...**

Remembering about the holocron I have, I held it in my hands as I went to find Jarik so I could ask about it. Since the discovery of Vyra Ren, he went to discuss a few things with Tenzin and Katara, so he was probably in the study.

I open the sliding door to Tenzin's study room, where I see Tenzin at his desk, Katara sitting in a chair, and Jarik standing by the side, arms crossed. They look over at my entry.

"What is it Caran?" Tenzin asks me.

"I just wanted to ask about something," I reply, looking up at Jarik. "Do you know what this is?"

I hold up the holocron, and he raises his eyebrow in a small amount of surprise. Tenzin however sputters for a moment, before standing up from his desk.

"Wh-what are you doing with that? I told you not to touch my things!" he snaps.

"I just want to know what it is," I try reasoning.

"I told you, it's an artifact of ancient Airbender that my father gave me! Now hand it over," he demands firmly.

"Actually Tenzin, I'll have to disagree with that," Jarik replies, much to his surprise. "That's a Jedi holocron."

"Wait, what?" Tenzin asks, surprised.

"See?" I tell him with a grin.

"You received that from Aang?" Katara asks Tenzin, who nods. "I don't recall ever seeing that."

"I suppose Qui-Gon must've not wanted Aang to tell anyone," Jarik theorizes. "He always had a good reason for his actions."

"This is surprising..." Tenzin murmurs.

"I opened it once, but I'm not sure how to do it again," I admit.

"Well, let's try it again," Jarik suggests.

"How? I can't remember what I did," I say helplessly.

"Imagine the holocron in your mind, and the mechanics of it," he advises me. "Think about it like a locked door, and the Force is the key to open it."

I slowly nod, a bit hesitantly, and look down at he holocron in my hands determinedly. Focusing on the Force, I hover my hand over the top of it and try to imagine opening it like last time, letting the Force flow though my fingertips.

Frowning in deeep concentration, I continue letting the Force swirl around the holocron, imaging it as a door, and I'm turning the handle. To my sudden surprise, I feel a click in my mind again, and the pieces of the holocron flip open, and it starts hovering in the air.

Tenzin and Katara both gasp in a mixture of surprise and wonder as the same blue figure of Obi-Wan Kenobi reappears, only not broken up like last time.

_"This is Master Obi Wan Kenobi. I regret to report that both our Jedi Order and the Republic, have fallen with a dark shadow of the Empire rising to take their place. This message is a warning and a reminder for any surviving Jedi. Trust in The Force. Do not return to the Temple…that time has past. And our future is uncertain. We will each be challenged. Our trust. Our faith. Our friendships. But we must persevere. And in time, a new hope will emerge. May the Force be with you, always."_

The holocron then closes up, and I swiftly catch it in momentary surprise as it falls, looking up at them. Jarik's expression is what gets my attention instantly, being surprised and... longing.

"Do you know him Jarik?" I ask curiously.

"Yeah... he was my master," he replies with a nod.

I widen my eyes briefly in surprise, but think more about the message now, and the things that were said.

"What did he mean when he said that the Jedi fell?" I ask cautiously.

He pauses for a few moments in response, letting out a small sigh.

"Long before you were born, the galactic government known as the Republic was at war with another group known as the Separatists. And despite our wishes, Jedi were heavily involved in the war," he explains.

"You were keepers of the peace," Katara says with a frown. "However, Qui-Gon said you weren't soldiers."

"That's right." he confirms. "I was only fourteen years old when I first fought in the war."

"That young?" Tenzin asks.

"Your father and I were the same age when we fought in the Hundred Year War, Tenzin," Katara reminds him.

"I know, but, it still seems wrong," he replies.

"I fought hard along with Obi-Wan and my friends, but in the end it was pointless. The entire war was orchestrated to allow a Sith Lord named Darth Sidious to rise, create the Empire in place of the Republic, and wipe out the Jedi," Jarik explains.

We look at him with wide eyes, shocked and saddened at what he went through.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Katara says sympathetically. "Aang also has to suffer through losing his people."

"I appreciate it," he says with a smile. "Besides, this happened a long time ago, and the Empire was defeated, along with the Sith."

"If the Sith we're responsible for that... then where did Snoke come from?" Tenzin asks.

Jarik frowns in wary concern. "I don't know... but he's been around for a long time. Waiting."

"Caran!"

I look over at the sound of Korra's voice, and barely have any time to prepare myself for the hug she gives me. The rest of Team Avatar enter the room as well, and she then quickly releases me, looking down with a worried gaze.

"Are you alright?" she asks worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I tell her with a frown. "Why do you ask?"

"We heard about what happened with this new Force-user," she explains.

"Oh, yeah. I'm alright, nothing too bad happened," I reassure her.

"Dude, seriously? You learn about some new creepy person on the loose, and it's nothing too bad?" Bolin asks incredulously.

"Well it's not like she was actually here," I point out.

Bolin frowns and then hums thoughtfully, a hand on his chin. "Good point, good point."

"Well, how did did restoring everyone's bending go?" Tenzin asks.

"Oh spirits," Korra groans loudly. "I still have several hundred more people to do tomorrow!"

"You'll get through it," Katara says with a smile.

"In the mean time," Jarik says, coughing into his hand. "You still have a lot of training ahead of you."

"Alright, I'm down for it," I remark with a shrug.

"Lucky you," Korra grumbles.

Luon snickers in amusement, while Mako rolls his eyes, and Asami shakes her head in amusement.

"Don't expect it to be easy though, because it is definitely not going to be," he warns me.

I grumble quietly at the statement, a little peeved at how much he seems to enjoy messing with me.

* * *

_**Auhor's Note:** So yeah, I think you can guess which version of the Joker will be used based on this chapter._

_Also we have some more teaching from Jarik! This lesson was definitely a little bit like Luke's short one from TLJ, but I felt that style fit Jarik's character more than Luke, since he's always been humorous. That scene I felt was alright in the movie._

_We don't have very many teaching scenes in Star Wars anyways when you think about it lol._


	3. Chapter 3 - Force Powers

_**Air Temple Island; Republic City**_

**3rd person POV…**

It was early morning, the light of day just beginning to shine over the horizon with an orange glow. As such, the majority of the island, especially the forest, was still covered in shadows by the trees.

There were two people still awake though, Caran being one of them. He runs through the forest of trees, jumping over obstacles, flipping over logs, and following the tough trail. He pants heavily in exhaustion, before ducking to the ground with a startled yelp as a golden lightsaber suddenly swings past his head. He scrambles back to his feet, but the one swinging the lightsaber was nowhere to be seen.

"Keep it moving Caran," he hears Jarik say from somewhere.

Breathing heavily, Caran sighs I'm exhausted frustration, but continues to move through the trees, headed for the training courtyard. Along the way, he hears the faint sound of movement from behind chasing after him, as well as the light humming of a lightsaber.

Despite his exhaustion, Caran smirks to himself.

Just as he's exiting the tree line and coming out onto the courtyard, the humming lightsaber zips forwards. Caran instantly turns around and unleashed a powerful Force push, intending to hit Jarik head on.

Much to his alarm however, Jarik is nowhere to be seen, and he widens his eyes. Moments later, a lightsaber slashes through his body from behind, and he cries out in pain as he's given a light shock.

"Ow!" he yelps, rubbing his torso to try and alleviate the stinging feeling.

"Ow?" Jarik questions, standing behind him with a raised eyebrow.

"Couldn't you have just held it right next to me and said, 'you're dead,' or something like that?" he complains.

"Oh, well if you say so. I'm sure he Messenger will take that shock into consideration when he stabs you," Jarik replies sarcastically, deactivating his lightsaber.

Caran groans, hanging his head. "Alright, I get your point. He's not gonna hold back."

"Exactly," he confirms with a nod. "Still, this is your best attempt yet. You made it all the way to the courtyard."

"I still 'died' though," Caran points out, dissatisfied.

"That's why we practice these things. It doesn't come overnight," Jarik reminds him.

"I guess so," he sighs tiredly. "But why do we have to do this stuff at dawn? Can't we wait a couple hours?"

"Because you also need to learn vigilance and awareness. Enemies are much more likely to strike when you're most vulnerable. And everyone is typically at their most vulnerable when sleeping," he explains. "Besides, I don't want you to learn the hard way."

"The hard way?" Caran asks in confusion.

"When it's too late," Jarik replies. "I learned to stay vigilant because I grew up in war."

"Ok, I get what you mean," he says with a nod.

"Good," he says, a small smile on his face. "Now go get yourself some food, and then get ready for the day. I've got more things I want you to work on this afternoon."

"Wonderful," Caran mutters in response.

* * *

**Caran POV…**

I tiredly pick up my food for breakfast and then look around the dining hall, spotting Jinora sitting at a table nearby, eating her breakfast while reading at the same time. I slump my way over in her direction and then sit down across from her, causing her to look up.

"You look exhausted," she comments.

"Yeah, Jedi training at dawn tends to do that," I reply sarcastically, taking a bite out of my bagel.

"Dawn?" she asks with a raised eyebrow. "Even my dad doesn't make us get up that early when he has us practice."

"Well, that's Jarik then," I shrug in response. "I thought training to be a Jedi would be really cool and exciting, but instead it's just been a whole bunch of physical exercises that make me want to pass out. I haven't even started learning to use the Force yet!"

"Weren't you learning about that for your second lesson?" she points out.

"Yeah, but I wasn't actually using it. I was just sensing different things," I tell her, taking another few bites out of my breakfast and sip my juice.

"I'm sure you'll start soon," she says reassuringly. "You know, when my grandfather was first learning firebending, Master Jeong Jeong wouldn't let him do anything until he learned the proper stances and breathing technique."

"Really?" I ask curiously.

"Yup!" Jinora replies with a smile. "So I'm sure Jarik will teach you more about the Force when he thinks you're ready."

"Alright. Thanks," I say with a grateful look.

Korra and Luon then walk over to us, apparently having already gotten some food for themselves. They sit down at our table, greeting us.

"Morning guys!" Korra says.

"Hi Korra," Jinora replies.

"Hey," I reply.

"You look exhausted," Luon remarks.

"For the past week you've been waking up like, super early. What gives squirt?" Korra asks.

"Jarik's training methods," I shrug in response.

"Seriously?" she asks in surprise. "He's having you wake up for training at dawn?"

"Yup."

"Wow, that's tough," Luon comments.

"I guess I can work with it," I reply, looking at Korra with a smirk. "This also means you have no excuse to complain about your lessons with Tenzin."

"What?" she asks with a frown, glancing around a mumbling. "I don't… complain…"

We all give her a look.

"...that much," she finishes lamely.

"Yeah right," I scoff sarcastically.

"Alright fine, I guess you have a point," she groans. She then flicks me on the head.

"Ow! What was that for?" I complain, rubbing my head with a frown.

"That's my appreciation," she replies with a grin.

"Wish my parents would let me do that to my younger siblings," Jinora says wistfully.

I look at her for a long moment, narrowing my eyes. "I can't tell whether that's a compliment or an insult."

She looks back at me with that deadpan stare she's perfected, and I mutter to myself, quietly going back to my breakfast. We eat in awkward, but comfortable silence for a little bit before Luon speaks up again.

"So What has Jarik been having you do exactly?" he asks me.

"Mostly just physical exercises. This morning he was chasing me through the woods, and I had to reach the courtyard before he caught me," I explain, frowning. "As soon as I got there though he still decided to slice me with his saber."

"He what?!" they all exclaim in horrified shock.

I wince from the sudden high pitched voices, and notice a few of the acolytes looking over at us, some of them frowning in annoyance at the loudness.

"Why would he do that?!" Korra demands angrily, beginning to check me roughly for any signs of injury. "He didn't hurt you did he?"

"Geez, Korra! Relax!" I exclaim, pushing her away. "He didn't hurt me! His lightsaber was set for practice mode. It only stung, that's all!"

They all breathe out huge sighs of relief, and I roll my eyes in exasperation. Did they really think Jarik would actually stab me for real?

"That makes a lot more sense," Luon says.

"Guess we overreacted," Korra admits sheepishly.

"Yeah you did," I reply with some snark, although I'm touched that all of them were so worried. "So what've you guys been up to?"

"Reading," Jinora instantly replies.

I don't doubt her, considering that's exactly what she's doing right now.

"Airbending training with Tenzin. Nothing new," Korra sighs. "I have to go restore more people's bending later today."

"Pro-bending arena is still down, so I need to find a job until it's fixed," Luon adds.

"You don't need to though. Everyone is perfectly happy with you staying here on the island. Tenzin's job makes him super rich!" Korra reminds him.

"I know, and I'm grateful, but I can't exactly rely on Tenzin forever," he reasons.

"If you say so," she replies with a frown.

"What about the others?" I ask curiously.

"I don't really know, aside from Asami. She's working on picking up the reigns of Future Industries," Luon explains.

"Wow, really? Good for her," Korra remarks.

"It's not really easy though," he admits. "Because of… well, her father doing what he did, not many people trust the company anymore, and lots of clients and investors have pulled out."

"Well that stinks," I say sadly.

"I'd offer her help, but I'd honestly do more harm than good," Korra says with a shrug.

"Hey guys, did you know that Jarik's been coming to the library a lot recently?" Jinora comments.

"Not really. What for?" I ask her.

"He's just been reading a whole bunch of things lately. Most of it was about bending and our history," she explains.

"I guess that's not too weird," Luon remarks. "It makes sense."

* * *

**Jarik POV…**

As I've read more about Reylea and its history, so many different things have seemed to click and make a lot more sense to me. There's still a lot I don't know, but I do have a better idea about the powers of bending, and what influences it. I'm certain that those powers are a warped version of the Force, split up into different categories.

Firebending: the passion and raw power of the Force.

Airbending: the spirituality and soothing freedoms of the Force.

Waterbending: the ever changing nature of the Force; its ability to evolve and adapt.

Earthbending: the strength and great durability that the Force holds over the universe.

It's crazy to know how much a place can change when the Force flows so strongly through it. Over the course of this planet's history, the Force shaped itself into different abilities that stem off from its original nature. It's also not hard to believe that ancient Jedi could have possibly influenced the culture of the Air Nomads.

There's no proof of that, but it wouldn't surprise me if there was.

Flipping through another page in the book I was reading, I blink my eyes in surprise and then look more intensely at the illustration shown. There appeared to be some sort of large creature standing in front of a person, I'm not sure who. What had me surprised wasn't the fact that this creature was huge, or that it seemed to be capable of interacting intelligently with people, if this drawing was anything to go by.

No, it was because of how familiar it looked.

Hearing footsteps, I look up to see Tenzin browsing through the library, probably to get a book or some scroll, or whatever, I don't care.

"Tenzin, a moment please?"

He looks over with a furrowed brow but comes over as requested.

"What can I help you with?" he asks politely, and I show him the picture of the large creature.

"What is this?" I ask him.

"That is a lion turtle," he answers. "An ancient race of large, wise, and powerful creatures that have lived longer than even some spirits. The most recent encounter anyone has had with one was with my father, Avatar Aang."

I look back at the picture of the lion turtle with a thoughtful gaze, comparing it to the creature that I've met before in my lifetime.

The Bendu.

There are plenty of differences of course, and he lion turtle looks to be much larger than the Bendu, at least seven times the size. But still, they are both ancient and bearded looking creatures, with shells and prefer walking on four limbs. Something tells me they're related in some form...

"Why do you ask?" Tenzin asks.

"Just, curiosity is all," I reply with a smile.

I could tell him about the Bendu later.

* * *

**Caran POV…**

This is the most physically exhausting week of my entire life.

Honestly, I never expected to say that after all the chaos that happened in the Anti-Bending Revolution, but this honestly is really difficult. Because now Jarik is having me perform a handstand, while also lifting several rocks with the Force.

"Focus Caran. Don't think about anything else, just let the Force flow through you," he tells me.

"Yeah… kinda hard not… to focus," I manage to say in exasperation.

Jarik then smacks my foot, and I yell in surprise, just barely managing to keep my balance, though I do drop the rocks that I was lifting up.

"If you're able to make a snarky comment then you aren't focusing enough," he says.

I groan in exertion, shakily lowering down a little bit from the pressure being put on my arms, but manage to keep myself in the air. Gritting my teeth with sweat running down, or I guess up, my face, I close my eyes and try to concentrate harder.

Focusing on the Force, I imagine the rocks steadily lifting into the air, and then bring them up. Three of the rocks slowly wobble into the air, and I do my best to lift them higher until they're about waists level.

"That's better," he says approvingly. "Now try one arm."

"W-what?" I ask incredulously, and the rock lower a little bit.

"Try one arm," he repeats.

Groaning to myself, I look down at my hands uneasily, shaking a little bit. Slowly, I try lifting up my left arm, only to immediately lose balance, and hastily place it down again. Knowing he wouldn't approve though, I try to lift my arm up again, shakily standing on just one arm now. I manage it for about three seconds before my arm gives out, and I collapse onto my back with a groan, the rocks breaking against the ground.

"Ugh…" I groan in exhaustion. "I'm not strong enough to do that."

"Yeah that is true," Korra's voice says from the side. "He hasn't worked out his body strength nearly as much as I have.

She had decided to come along for this lesson and watch, along with Tenzin, who was standing off to the side and stroking his beard as usual.

"Thanks for the support," I grumble, despite knowing she's right.

"I know you aren't strong enough to do that," Jarik says, much to my bewilderment. "I was however, hoping you would use the Force to do so."

"What do you mean?" I ask in confusion, looking up at him.

"The Force can do nearly anything for you, not just act as something to blow things around," he tells me. "You can use the Force to strengthen your muscles and stamina, to give you energy even if you're completely exhausted."

"How do I do that then?" I ask him.

"Like you were focusing on the rocks to lift them, you have to focus on yourself as well," he explains. "Let its energy flow through your body, fill you, and expel that energy through your muscles and physical attributes."

"I've never tried that before," I admit, pushing myself up into a sitting position.

"It isn't very hard at all once you do. It's just a simple manipulation of the Force on yourself," he tells me. "Why do you think airbenders can move so quickly? Or why earthbenders are so tough, able to continue on despite taking a beating?"

"Huh?" I ask.

Korra and Tenzin blink in surprise and confusion.

"But the other bending styles don't use the Force," Tenzin says. "Our airbending is what gives us the capability."

"Not directly," Jarik says in disagreement.

We all give each other confused glances, and I shrug my shoulders helplessly.

"Remember what I said the other day, about how bending is related to the Force?" he says.

"Yeah," I recall with a nod.

"And you're right Tenzin, airbending isn't the same. But bending draws its power from the Force, just in different ways," Jarik states, sitting down across from me. "Reading up on your planet's history has helped me understand a lot about bending, and its connection to the Force."

"So how does that work?" Korra asks.

"Very simple, actually," he shrugs. "You already know that Reylea is very powerful in the Force, yet no one else is capable of using it like Caran. And like I told you earlier, the Force evolved over time. What's special about that, is that each bending style represents one of the four aspects of the Force."

"Woah. Really?" I ask in amazement.

"Yeah, really. Each bending style draws strength from a different aspect of the Force, fueled by the planet's energy," he explains with a nod. "Take firebending for example: firebenders draw on their passion and inner energy to fuel their skill. The Force for me and Caran isn't much different in that regard, as emotion can fuel our abilities."

"I never thought of it that way," I admit thoughtfully. "But you did tell me not to use emotion in battle."

"Emotional fuels your power, and also weakens your rationality," Jarik states, and I nod in understanding.

"If bending evolved from different 'aspects' of the Force, or whatever, then why does it still seem so different?" Korra asks.

"Yeah, how does that work?" I ask with a nod of agreement. "With the Force can sense things, move stuff around, and enhance myself like you said, but bending can't do that, just like I can't do bending."

"On the contrary, you actually can," Jarik replies, and I blink in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Tenzin asks with a furrowed brow.

"It's not the most common thing, that's true, but if a Jedi or Sith becomes powerful enough, they can use a much larger variety of Force abilities," he informs us, looking at me. "Like how benders use their chi to manipulate energy needed for bending, you can manipulate energy through your connection to the Force. The only difference is, with the Force you don't use your chi."

"I don't?" I ask, surprised. "Why not?"

"A bender's chi is what allows them to manipulate energy. But with the Force your entire body and spirit is connected to it, leaving it unblockable, and allowing you to increase your power," he explains.

"Maybe that's why chi-blocking never worked on you!" Korra realizes. "And why Amon couldn't take it away!"

"Because he could only block my chi," I say with a nod. I've had a feeling that was why Amon couldn't take it, but it's nice to have a confirmation. "So you're saying I can still use the Force, in order to use bending as well?"

"That sounds a lot like how the Avatar can bend all elements," Tenzin states. "But no one else has ever been able to do so."

"It's not exactly the same as bending," Jarik corrects.

"Ok, I'm confused," I say with a frown. "You're saying I can also bend the elements, and at the same time I can't bend the elements? That doesn't make sense."

"There's a fine line between the two Caran, that's where you and I fall in," he explains, bringing a hand to his chin. "I've only studied this for a week, so I still don't understand the entire connection. But I do know that with the Force you can produce similar abilities to a bender. You can already manipulate objects like air, water, and earth benders. They're just limited to their one element."

"So what can I do then?" I ask him, and he smiles at me.

"You can do this."

Lifting up his right arm, Jarik waves his fingers briefly, and I sense an increase of power coming from him. Golden sparks then dance along his fingertips, and we all widen our eyes as he directs his arm out to the side, and shoots a stream of golden-colored lightning harmlessly across the ocean. He stops after a few seconds, and we gape at him in bewilderment.

"Skilled firebenders can use lightning. That ability was developed from the Force," he tells us.

"No way!" I exclaim in awe.

"Wish I could use lightning," Korra mutters.

"Out of the more powerful Force abilities that bending stems from, that is the most common amongst Force users," Jarik explains.

"So I could make lightning too?" I ask eagerly.

"I'm not teaching you that ability. At least, not right now," he states, much to my disappointment. "While Jedi can learn to conjure lightning to a lesser extent, true Force lightning can only be wielded through the dark side, using anger and aggression. Not to mention it is very dangerous, even for the user. Making even the smallest mistake can end up harming the user."

"Oh," I say quietly.

"The Force's power seems to come at a price of being very dangerous," Tenzin says with a concerned frown.

"It is dangerous to practice with an ability you don't understand," Jarik says in agreement. "That's why for now, I won't teach beyond what you are already capable of Caran."

"Alright. I guess that makes sense," I admit with a shrug.

Jarik then stands up to his feet and looks down at me. "Good. Now let's continue with your practice, only this time try and use the Force to enhance your strength and stamina."

I can't help myself when I let out an exhausted groan, but I still get to my feet to continue these exercises.

* * *

_**Police Department; Republic City**_

**3rd person POV…**

Lin Beifong approaches Saikhan at his desk, where he was reviewing some reports and evidence his team had gathered. After the war with the Equalists, Korra returned his bending to him, and he was reinstated into his former position of the police force under Lin's command. He felt some measure of guilt for his role under Tarrlok, and so he was devoted to doing things right now. At Lin's approach, he stands up and gives her a formal salute.

"Chief Beifong," he greets, and she nods in reply.

"What have we got so far?" she asks.

"We're making some progress in hunting down different criminal organizations. Some groups of Equalists are still operating, but their numbers have been rapidly dwindling since Amon's exposure," he reports.

"That's good," she says with a satisfied nod. "How about the bending triads?"

"They've managed to strengthen themselves thanks to the chaos from the Equalist movement, and have become more bold," Saikhan says. "Most of their activity sill lies with the Triple Threats, the Agni Kai's and the Terra Triad."

Lin makes a small face at the mention of the Terra Triad, but otherwise doesn't comment, and continues listening to Saikhan's report.

"Aside from them, there've been rumors and evidence supporting the rise of a new criminal organization. Came up short after Amon's defeat, and their supposed leader has made some bold, but well calculated moves," he states.

"Such as?" Lin asks.

"Armed robbery, double homicide... often against the other gangs. Take this guy for example. Seems to be involved with most of them, and he has a taste for theatrics..." he trails off.

Saikhan then reaches for his desk and grabs a small card, handing it out to Lin. She takes the card and observes it with a thoughtful frown.

"Leaves a calling card," he says.

Lin turns the card over to see the character depicted on it, showing it was a Joker card.

"We'll just have to look into this then," she decides.

A knock on the door has Lin looking up, and an officer opens the door, looking through. RIght beside him is Mako, his hands in his pockets.

"Chief Beifong, Mako has arrived for his interview," he reports.

"Just a moment," she says, turning back to Saikhan. "Keep investigating this. I don't want to deal with another rising gang."

"Of course Chief," he says with a nod.

She hands him back the Joker card and then walks over to the door, greeting Mako who is waiting outside. The officer salutes her and then walks off to continue his duties.

"Hello Chief," Mako greets with a small smile.

"So you want to be an officer?" she asks, cutting right to it.

Mako blinks in surprise but shrugs it off, having figured out her personality by now.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah I want to be a cop, help you guys to round up all of these gangs," he says with a nod.

Lin eyes him critically for a moment with crossed arms, raising a brow and humming.

"Alright. Follow me," she orders.

"Ok, sure. Yes chief," he replies.

Lin holds back a sigh of annoyance at his apparent nervousness, and walks to her office. Mako follows right after her and remains mostly silent as they travel through the station. Not much later they reach Lin's office and she unlocks the door, gesturing inside. He walks into the office, and she follows through behind him. Moving to sit at her desk, she gestures to the chair in front of it, and he sits down as well.

"Now let's start off simple," Lin says. "Why do you want to be a police officer?"

"Well, I've been through some tough times when I was a kid, saw a lot of bad things happen to people," he explains slowly. "Me and Bolin were on our own for a long time, often in very tough circumstances."

"Sounds more like you should be in a public service job instead of the police," Lin deadpans. "We catch criminals Mako. We can't help others living situations."

"I know, I know! I'm getting to it!" he replies quickly. "What I'm trying to say is that I saw a lot of bad stuff, dealt with a lot of bad people. Criminals extort all of these poor people and thrive off of it. I want to catch those guys so that they can't keep breaking the law and hurting others."

"Fair enough," she decides. "Then can you explain your history with the Triple Threat Triads?"

Mako freezes nervously at the hard, disapproving look she gives him, and then sighs.

"Yes, I did work for the Triple Threats," he admits regretfully. "But not because I wanted to. It was the only way I could keep providing for my little brother, and as soon as I found another way, I got us as far away from them as possible."

"You still assisted an illegal gang with their work," she reminds him.

"I only ran numbers for them!" he reasons. "I didn't do anything criminal, I just handled their money the way they wanted me to, that's all! I'm not proud of it, but it was the only thing I could do to provide for Bolin, otherwise we would have been completely homeless with no food."

"Normally kind of work, while not illegal, would still result in some form of jail time because of how it benefits criminals," Lin says, and Mako tenses. "But considering your circumstances, and what you've done for the city, I'm willing to let it slide."

"Thank you," Mako breathes out in relief.

"I know you Mako, and I know what kind of person you are. If it wasn't for that, you would be jailed," she states firmly.

"I understand," he replies.

"Now, what makes you think you're qualified to become a cop?" she questions.

"I'm a skilled fighter. I don't give up on challenges easily, and I want to uphold the law," he answers instantly. "I also have knowledge on how the triads operate, since I used to work for them. That benefits in knowing triad hideouts, members, and style of organization."

Lin nods her head, approving the idea of having someone who knows the type of people they have to deal with.

"Are you willing to follow the orders of your superiors, and remain professional and respectful?" she asks him. "As a police officer, you represent this department, and the city. Failing to do so will result in disciplinary action."

"I understand Chief," Mako says with a nod. "I'm willing to follow orders, and I won't disrespect the police force."

Lin stares at Mako for a long while with narrowed eyes, giving him a critical look. Eventually, she nods her head.

"Very well. You've got yourself a job here Mako," she states.

"Thank you Chief," he replies with a smile.

They both stand up from their desks and shake each other's hands.

* * *

_**Sato Estate; Republic City**_

Asami sighs heavily as she looks over all of the paperwork laid out across the desk. Ever since she got back, she had to take control of Future Industries now that her father was known to be an Equalist and a criminal. As such, the burden of running such a huge company fell to her before she could prepare for it.

Thanks to her father's affiliation with the Equalists, the reputation of the company has also gone down immensely. Other companies or investors have since sold or disposed of their stocks with the company, and sales have diminished quite a lot. Asami isn't an Equalist either, but public opinion of her is suspicious and mistrusting, which only adds to the huge load of trouble she has to deal with.

Luckily there are some people in the company who are taking leadership and doing their best to keep things running and take on some of the workload, but even with that it's still not enough to improve it. If things keep going as they are without improvement, then the company will have to file for bankruptcy within the year.

Asami sighs again, looking at yet another sheet paper that lists another shareholder pulling away from investing in Future Industries. The door then opens, and she looks up as the butler enters.

"Miss Sato, you have visitors," he says.

Walking through the door is Korra and Luon, and despite the stress Asami smiles happily, getting up from her desk to greet them.

"Luon, Korra! It's so good to see you!" she says happily.

The three share a group hug and then separate.

"You too Asami," Korra replies with a smile.

"Spirits, that doesn't look like much fun," Luon says with a grimace.

Asami glances back at where he's looking, seeing the desk full of papers and sighs.

"Yeah. Running the company is a nightmare," she tells them. "After what my father did, Future Industries reputation has pretty much plummeted."

"But he's in jail now. Your company wasn't responsible, and everyone still employed here has been found innocent," Korra says with a frown.

"But Future Industries was founded by my father, and I'm also his daughter," she explains. "People are now suspicious of me, and the media is questioning whether or not I'm carrying along in his footsteps."

"That's stupid. You're the one who put him in jail," Korra states, crossing her arms.

"That's just the way things work, as dumb as it is," Luon says irritably. "Journalists typically just go after anyone as long as it gets them a good story or helps their narrative."

"I would try to help you but, I would probably makes things worse," Korra shrugs helplessly.

"Well, it's the thought that counts," Asami says with a small smile of gratitude. "But enough about me. How are the others? Is Caran's training going ok?"

"Yeah, he's doing fine," Korra replies. "Jarik's been pushing him through a lot, and he won't stop moaning about how difficult it is. Can't say I blame him though."

"Is he getter better?" she asks.

"I'm pretty sure he is."

"How about Mako and Bolin? What're they up to?" Luon asks.

"Mako is signing up to be a police officer," Asami says.

"Really?" he asks in surprise.

"Ha! He's gonna have a tough time working with Beifong," Korra says in amusement.

"Yeah, I don't envy him," Luon adds.

"Yeah," Asami giggles. "And Bolin is…"

Before she could start, a commotion from outside gets there attention, and the door is opened by the butler, who has to do it quickly with some alarm in order to avoid the storm that is Bolin, who rushes excitedly into the room.

"Hey guys!" he exclaims.

"Hey Bolin," they all reply.

"Wow, things are changing a lot right now! First Mako gets a job working as a cop - how cool is that right? And then I'm now taking over as the team captain for the Fire Ferrets!" he says quickly.

"Wait, you're captain of the Fire Ferrets now?" Korra asks.

"Yeah!" he says eagerly. "I would've liked to get the team back together since we were robbed of a championship last time, but since Mako is gonna be a cop, and you're doing your own thing," he continues, gesturing at Korra. "I'm gonna be leading the team now!"

"Well, nice job Bolin," she replies.

"I think you'll be a great team captain," Luon adds encouragingly.

"Who's gonna be on your team?" Asami asks.

"Uh… I don't know yet," he admits. "But I'll find a few benders! I'm sure there are plenty of talented guys or girls out there."

"Good luck with that," Luon says.

"Thanks," Bolin replies with a smile. "So what're you guys doing? You gonna bust some criminals or something Korra? Protect the world and all that?"

"Actually I have to restore the last few people's bending," Korra says with a grimace.

"Oh yeah, that's true," he recalls with a nod. "Man, you still have to do that? How many more people are there?"

"Less than fifty, thank the spirits," she sighs.

"That's good, that's good," he nods quickly.

* * *

**Caran POV…**

I stroked Naga's fur as I stood in front of City Hall, and the polar bear dog purred appreciatively. Korra was finishing up with restoring the last group of people's bending, and I decided to come in support of her. Jarik was there as well, standing just a few feet behind me beside Tenzin.

Lin and her officers were also here of course to keep the crowd orderly and under control, and Luon was standing beside me, also in support of Korra.

The next person in line approaches Korra, and I quickly realize with a start that it's Tahno, the punk waterbender from the Probending matches. Luon narrows his eyes bitterly, and I can also sense Korra uncertainty and dislike of him, knowing that there's a part of her that wants him to remain powerless, just like a part of me wants that as well, as cruel as it is.

Thankfully for us all though, Korra still carries out the process when he kneels in front of her. She places her hands on his forehead and shoulder, and her eyes and hands glow brightly as she restores his bending. Once it's done, he stands back up with a genuine smile, and I can sense the overwhelming level of gratitude.

"Thank you, Avatar Korra," he says gratefully.

"You're welcome," she replies quietly. "Just… don't be such a jerk will you?"

Tahno chuckles in response, but it's a hollow one, filled with shame and regret.

"After losing my bending it made me think… and I'm gonna try and be better," he says sincerely.

He smiles gratefully at her once again and then walks off, allowing the next person in line to step forwards. I glance over at Luon, who breathes out quietly, still mistrustful of Tahno, but now less hateful and more willing to forget the bad he's done.

The restoration of the people's bending continues on, but it doesn't take much longer before the last person is standing in front of Korra, something that she is noticeably relieved by. She steps forwards once they kneel in front of her and places her hands on the man's forehead and shoulders, restoring his bending with a bright glow. Once it's over, she steps back and he raises a hand, his face filled with delight when a flame pops out.

"Thank you. Thank you so much Avatar Korra!" he says gratefully.

"It's no problem sir," she replies with a small smile.

"Awesome!" a girl's voice exclaims.

A young girl, probably about nine years old or so rushes up to the man, along with a woman. Most likely his daughter and wife. The young girl hugs her father and then turns towards Korra with an excited look in her eye. It's then that I notice the girl is dressed up almost exactly like Korra, and I release she's roleplaying as her!

"Thank you Miss Korra!" she beams.

"Oh!" Korra says in surprise, having noticed the same thing. "You're welcome, kid!"

"Do you like my outfit?" she asks, showing it off.

"Oh, yeah. You look a lot like me," Korra tells her.

"I know! You're so cool! I want to be just like you when I grow up!" the girl beams brightly.

Korra looks over helplessly at me with wide eyes, and I hold a hand to my mouth to prevent myself from laughing. Luon isn't faring much better than me, and I notice there's even a smile on Tenzin's face. Jarik is grinning with mischievous amusement, leaning against the column. His easygoing and humorous personality feels kind of weird sometimes since he's my Jedi teacher, and yet he manages to be the complete opposite of Tenzin's seriousness, while also managing to push me harder than Tenzin did.

"Now now Karrisi, don't overwhelm her," the girl's mother scolds lightly.

"Ok mom," Karrisi replies, skipping back over to them. "Bye Miss Korra!"

"Bye Karrisi," she replies with a wave.

Korra watches the family go for a moment before heading back over to us with a sigh.

"Great. I've already got a 'fanbase' now," she groans.

"Bolin would be jealous," Luon remarks.

"That was kind of cute though, right?" I say with a teasing look.

"Well, yeah," she admits. "But still, it's weird."

"Eh, it's not so bad. You get used to the popularity," Jarik shrugs.

"What, are you some kind of celebrity where you're from?" I ask him with a raised eyebrow.

"As a matter of fact I am," he replies, much to our surprise. "Me and a few others. Everyone in the galaxy has heard of me at this point."

"Because you were a war hero?" Tenzin asks.

"For the most part, yeah," he replies, before grimacing. "You should feel relieved that you aren't a guy thought Korra."

"Why's that?" she asks with a confused frown.

"No matter how you may feel about boys being attracted to you, _nothing _is worse than the fangirls," he says, and to my surprise he actually seems unsettled. "They're like a horde of monsters when they catch sight of me."

The sight of Jarik running away from a bunch of girls nearly makes me break out into laughter, and Korra struggles not to laugh at the thought as well. Luon rolls his eyes, while Tenzin sighs in exasperation, walking away and muttering to himself. Korra then looks at Jarik with a critical eye, smirking in amusement.

"Yeah, I can see why. You are easy on the eyes," she teases.

"Yeah, I deal with that enough from my wife, thanks," he retorts, walking away.

We stand there in shocked silence for a moment.

"Wait, you're married?!" I exclaim in bewilderment.


	4. Chapter 4 - Dark Knights Attack

**_Air Temple Island - Republic City_**

**Caran POV...**

Me and Jarik are sitting across from each other in the Meditation Pavilion, where he's about to begin my next lesson about being a Jedi.

"Today's focus will be about your lightsaber," Jarik states, and I widen my eyes eagerly. "You have it with you right?"

"Yeah, of course!" I reply, holding it up.

"And how about your kyber crystal?" he asks.

"I have it with me," I tell him, showing it from underneath my shirt. "I wear it as a necklace."

"I suppose that works," he remarks. "Can I see your lightsaber for a moment?"

"Sure," I reply, handing him my lightsaber.

He looks it over for a few long moments, turning it this way and that and feeling the grooves with his fingers. He then opens up his hands, although he uses the Force to hold the lightsaber up in between them. I watch, mesmerized, until he clenches his fingers and makes a pulling motion. I gasp with incredulous horror as my lightsaber just crumbles apart, being separated into dozens of little pieces, which he deposits on the ground.

"Wh- hey!" I exclaim in shock. "What did you just do?!"

"Hmm?" he asks, looking up at me.

"You just broke my lightsaber! Why would you do that?!" I demand angrily.

"Ok, first, this isn't your lightsaber. Technically it's Qui-Gon's," he shrugs carelessly.

"I swear if you're trying that whole 'making-me-mad' lesson again-" I start to say.

"Secondly," Jarik interrupts firmly. "It isn't broken."

"Yeah, and Fire Lord Ozai wanted to share hugs and kisses with the world," I retort sarcastically, steaming as I look down at my broken lightsaber in despair.

"I'm serious Caran, relax. It's not broken. I just separated it into its different parts," he says calmly. "It's part of the lesson."

"And how is that part of the lesson?" I ask bitterly.

"Because you're going to learn how to construct a lightsaber," he tells me.

I falter in my angry retort, staring at him in surprise and blinking a few times.

"Wait, seriously?" I ask cautiously.

"Seriously," he nods.

"Well… how am I going to do that?" I ask doubtfully. "I'm not a mechanical engineer, I- I'm not gonna know how to assemble something like this!"

"You don't need to know anything about mechanics to construct your lightsaber, you just trust in the Force to guide your motions," he replies.

"Huh," I say, silent for a few moments. "But if I have my own lightsaber already why would I need to make another one?"

In response to my question, Jarik reaches into the pile of scattered lightsaber parts and pulls out a glowing green crystal, holding it up. I widen my eyes slightly at the sight of it, sensing the Force coming from it, much like my own crystal.

"You see this?" he asks. "This is Qui-Gon's kyber crystal. Its energy is strong and filled with the light side of the Force."

"It's green," I notice, pulling out my kyber crystal, which is a clear color. "Why is it green?"

"Kyber crystals can have different colors depending on what type of Jedi the user would turn out to be. Qui-Gon was a Jedi Consular, and as such he and other Consular's like him spent a great deal of time studying the Force, and preferring to seek out diplomatic measures of peace, only drawing out their lightsabers as a last resort," he explains. "Most often a Consular wielded a green lightsaber."

"So what does my color make me?" I ask curiously, looking at my crystal.

"I'm not sure," Jarik replies with a shrug. "It could be that way because you practice the light side, and yet have no influence or real affiliation to the Jedi. Or your path hasn't been decided yet."

"So the crystal and lightsaber color determines what type of Jedi you become," I deduce with a frown, looking at my crystal. "That kind of seems dumb to not have a choice."

"That's because you're wrong," he states, much to my confusion. "Yes, a lightsaber color can typically be associated with a Jedi Class, but it isn't exclusive. My wife's original lightsaber blade was green, yet she's about as far from a Consular as you can get."

"You're wife…" I murmur quietly, still a little baffled at that. I don't know why I am, maybe it's because of what I know about Jedi from Qui-again and Katara. "What does she look like?"

"She's beautiful."

"Cool, but that doesn't answer the question."

"I know," he replies.

I roll my eyes in exasperation, preparing to ask Jarik about it more when he cuts me off.

"Anyways, back to the lightsabers. Like I said, the color can be influenced by Jedi Class, but it's not exclusive," he states.

I sigh in disappointment but focus back on the lesson. "This Jedi stuff is very confusing."

"Same could be said for a lot of things," he replies with an amused smile. "Now, Qui-Gon's lightsaber seems to be a good fit and has accepted you, but you can't ever gain complete harmony through the Force with it."

"Why not?" I ask him.

"Because this isn't your kyber crystal," he states. "It's not bonded to you because you aren't the user it chose."

"Are these crystals… sentient or something?" I ask with wide eyes, looking at mine.

"No, but they do carry a certain wisdom," Jarik tells me. "When Jedi younglings are ready for their own lightsabers they partake in a ceremony known as the Gathering. In special caves filled with kyber crystals, they have to find their crystal. It can't just be any crystal, it has to be one that responds to them, and accepts them as it's user."

"Is that why you want me to build my own lightsaber?"

"Yes. You already have a kyber crystal that is connected to you," he replies.

"How will I get the things needed though?" I ask, looking down at the scattered lightsaber parts uneasily.

"I can provide that, but first I want you to practice with reassembling Qui-Gon's lightsaber. I'll demonstrate it for you."

Placing the crystal back on the ground with the parts, he closes his eyes and then raises his hands over it. The different lightsaber parts float gently into the air, and I watch in amazement as they move to take a general shape, slowly sliding into place. The kyber crystal floats into the center of the line of parts, which then slowly slide together, connecting seamlessly to recreate the lightsaber.

Jarik reopens his eyes and picks the lightsaber up from out of the air, while I watch in awe and wonder.

"It's not that complicated honestly," he shrugs. "Now you try it."

"I still don't know…"

"Try it," he says, pulling the saber apart again. "Everyone starts somewhere."

He lays the pieces on the ground, Qui-Gon's kyber crystal glowing green in the middle of the pile, and I look at it uncertainly before sighing.

Closing my eyes, I use the Force to sense the different pieces scattered in front of me, and then slowly lift them into the air. I remain still for a moment, and then lower the pieces back to the ground and open my eyes in exasperation.

"How am I supposed to figure out where certain pieces go?"

"You're thinking too hard. You have to feel for it," he replies. "Open yourself to the Force, and let it be your guide."

Frowning at the not-so helpful answer, I nevertheless close my eyes and try to do it again. Lifting up the pieces, I try following what he told me to do, and feel it with the Force. I can sense the energy of the crystal just fine, but everything else is still just a jumbled mess. Even so, I try and visualize how Jarik connected all of the parts, and shakily direct them into that formation.

Furrowing my brow in concentration, I try pushing the pieces closer together so that they'll remake the lightsaber.

"Don't think about it…" he says slowly.

Pushing the pieces closer together with the Force, they start to connect into the shape of a lightsaber, the crystal being covered. I slowly attempt to finish the process…

"Hey guys!"

I yelp in surprise at the sudden voice by my side, opening my eyes. My grip on the lightsaber is instantly lost, and it falls to the ground, clattering around in a fantastic array of lightsaber parts. Jarik sighs.

"Oh… bad time?" Korra asks sheepishly.

I whip around to glare at her in annoyance. "Korra! I was so close to finishing that!"

"Actually you were still crafting it wrong," Jarik replies calmly.

"What?!" I exclaim incredulously.

"Is there something you need Korra?" he asks politely.

"Oh, yeah. Tenzin just told me to tell you that Lin told him that she wants at least one of you to meet her, or preferably both of you," she explains.

I blink at the mouthful before putting together what she said. "What does she need to see us for?"

At that her expression becomes grim. "She's found more evidence of the Knights of Ren."

I widen my eyes and glance over at Jarik, who instantly becomes serious, narrowing his gaze thoughtfully and looking out at the city.

* * *

**_Agni Kai Triad Headquarters - Republic City_**

Korra, Jarik, Luon and I all made our way into the city where Lin wanted to meet us, finding the place to be in some old warehouse hidden away. Police officers were all around the building, some keeping citizens away from the crime scene while others were investigating: taking photos, writing down notes, etc.

Entering the warehouse, we find Lin standing closer to the center of operations, Tenzin apparently having already gotten here. The whole place looks like it's seen some sort of fight, judging by some of the ground being broken by an earthbender, and scorch marks from a firebender. Lin looks over at our arrival.

"Good, you made it," she says.

"Yeah, we did," I reply.

"You said there was evidence of the Knights of Ren being here?" Korra asks.

"Judging from the marks on people who were killed here," she explains.

"Killed?" I ask uneasily.

"This looks like a hangout of one of the bending triads," Luon observes.

"It was," Lin confirms.

"Where are the bodies?" Jarik asks.

"Over there," Lin says, pointing it out. "Lightsaber wounds straight through the chest on most of them."

Looking over to where Lin pointed it out, I notice the sight of a couple of dead people there, and glance away uneasily. I've seen bad stuff before, but all we've ever done is knock people unconscious. Korra remains close to me for comfort as we follow Jarik and Lin over to the sight.

"Do you have any idea of why the Knights of Ren would go after criminals?" Tenzin asks.

"I'm not sure," Jarik admits. "It could be they're trying to gain leadership over more people now that the Equalists are gone."

They reach the first body, and I notice the charred hole in his back. Jarik frowns, crouching done beside the dead man and analyzes the mark. He carefully flips the man over onto his back, getting a look at where the lightsaber most likely stabbed him from. The area around it is blackened and charred.

Korra, Luon and I all glance at each other uneasily, not too comfortable about the idea of being around a dead person.

Jarik reaches his left arm out and rubs it along the wound, picking up some burned ash left behind by the mark. As he does so, I realize his fingers are completely metal, much to my bewilderment and confusion, sensing the others realizing the same thing. Before we could comment though, he stands back up.

"This isn't a lightsaber wound," he states.

Questions about the metal hand falter as we realize what he said, and confusion runs through my mind.

"It's not?" I ask in surprise.

"No. A lightsaber blade cuts through anything, burning and disintegrating what it touches. But it does so cleanly," he explains. "This mark is messy."

"What could it be otherwise then?" Lin questions.

"A blaster," he replies.

"What's a blaster?" Korra asks.

"It's a small, hand-held ranged weapon. It generates plasma similar to a lightsaber, but without a kyber crystal the energy isn't stable enough to sustain. So the energy is expelled, shooting outwards at high velocity in a bolt of explosive plasma."

Jarik then frowns, looking down at the dead person.

"Why they would have blasters though is the real question."

"But it's still the Knights that did this," Lin states.

"I'm not so sure they did," he replies, much to our surprise. "They're definitely responsible for the addition of blasters, but I can't sense any trace of them being here. I can only assume they supplied some other group of criminals with them."

"That doesn't sound good," Korra remarks.

"No it doesn't," Lin states in agreement, a deep frown on her face. "Not only do we have to worry about two dangerous Force-users on the loose, but now they seem to be supplying criminals with weapons they've brought."

"What sort of triad group would do this much damage to another though?" Luon asks.

I glance around the place during the talking, for some reason my gaze being drawn towards a card laying on a table nearby. Using the Force, I pick up the card and observe it, noticing the shape of a Joker on the front.

"What's that?" Korra asks.

"Just some weird card," I shrug, about to drop it.

"What?" Lin asks sternly. "Let me see that."

Surprised by her reaction I hand over the card, and she takes one look at it before muttering an angry curse.

"What is it?" Tenzin asks.

"The Joker was behind this," she states angrily, and Tenzin frowns in worry.

"Who's the Joker?" I ask her.

"A new criminal boss that's sprung up recently. He's mostly just been targeting the other bending triads, leaving behind one of these every time," she explains, waving the card for emphasis.

"Well, if it's just criminals attacking criminals, then that's good right?" Korra suggests.

"Quite the opposite actually," Jarik replies. "Normally when a crime syndicate starts targeting others, it means they're trying to expand their numbers and territory. And if he's leaving behind a card every time, then it's a message meant to inspire fear."

Lin looks at Jarik in surprise before nodding in agreement. "That's exactly right."

"I'm betting the Messenger and this 'Vyra' person are trying to make another army for themselves or whatever," Luon says with a frown, crossing his arms.

"To try and take over the city again?" Korra sighs. "Great."

"If that was Vyra's only reason for building up forces, then she would've just brought in their entire fleet," Jarik says, bringing a hand to his chin.

"Hmm. So they have a different motive then," Tenzin deduces.

"Not that I'm complaining of course," I say with a nervous laugh, before looking at Jarik uneasily. "But, why wouldn't they do that?"

Jarik frowns thoughtfully, thinking for a moment.

"Snoke wants your planet's power, and his end goal to acquire it is through invasion. Amon was a means to an end, to rid the world of bending so that invasion would be easier," he explains. "But with him gone, they may be after something else. The only reason I can think of is that they're using criminals as a delaying tactic."

"If so, then it is a good strategy," Lin reluctantly admits. "Gathering up a huge criminal organization would make things really difficult on us. And without any knowledge on this 'Joker' guy, I have no idea how they'll act."

"So then we stop them from getting more people," Korra suggests, bashing her fist against her palm. "Find and arrest the triad gangs before they get to them."

"Won't be easy. The bending triads have been operating since the city was first built. They know how to stay hidden," Tenzin warns us.

"Well, me and Jarik could root them out, right?" I suggest with a grin. "We just do some 'Force sensing,' and then we can find them."

"Physical proof is needed for an arrest," Lin reminds me.

"Then we catch them in the act!" I state.

"I like it! Team Avatar is ready to take them down!" Korra declares confidently.

"I still don't fully approve of this whole 'vigilante' stuff. I don't care that you're the Avatar," Lin states with a grumble.

"And many of you are busy. Asami is working on her company, Bolin on the Fire Ferrets, and Mako is training to be a police officer. Not to mention, Korra, you and Caran still have a lot of training," Tenzin points out. "Airbending training, and Jedi training."

"I'm sure we could make some time for it," Korra says.

"Also as a suggestion Chief, we could work with the police force in finding gangs," Luon offers.

Lin raises an eyebrow and cross her arms, giving the three of us a critical look, while we send a hopeful and eager look back in her direction. Finally she sighs, slowly nodding her head.

"Fine. I can work with that, as long as you don't cause property damage," Lin states, giving Korra a look. "Again."

"Yes!" Korra, Luon and I all cheer happily.

I then glance over curiously at Jarik, seeing that he's still looking down at the body of the dead criminal.

"Hey Jarik, you want to join Team Avatar?" I ask him.

He glances back at me with a small smile, but shakes his head. "No thanks. I'm here mainly just to teach you what you need to know. I do have duties back with the New Republic. Unless Vyra and the Messenger make an appearance, I'm going to refrain from stepping in."

I slump my shoulders in disappointment, but nod in understanding of his points.

"Wait, does that mean you're leaving soon?" I ask worriedly.

"In a few days," he confirms. "But just for a week, and then I'll be back. Force knows my wife is getting impatient at this point."

A few of us smile at the joke, but otherwise don't say anything. Still, thinking back on something I noticed about him when he was analyzing the dead criminal, was that his hand seemed to be made of metal. I'd have to ask him about that, because surely he doesn't have a metal arm right? That's crazy stuff.

Although they do have super advanced technology... Agh, I don't know!

* * *

**_Air Temple Island - Republic City_**

"So you're bringing Team Avatar back to the streets to fight crime?" Jinora asks curiously.

"Heck yeah we are," I reply eagerly. "I have a good feeling about this. Rounding up a bunch of hoodlums to throw them in jail."

"Sounds kind of intense," Jinora admits, swinging her feet over the ledge we were sitting on. "I'm surprised my Dad is fine with it."

"Oh he definitely disapproved," I confirm with a nod. "Him and Beifong."

"What about Jarik? What'd he say?" she asks curiously.

I shrug in response. "He had no issue. I did ask if he wanted to join the team but, he turned it down. Said he's got stuff to do back out in space."

"He's leaving soon?" she asks in surprise. "I thought he was still training you!"

"It's not permanent, he'll be gone for only two weeks or something like that."

"Oh, ok," she replies. "I guess it's not a surprise that he has to do things out there... wherever 'there' is."

"Yeah..." I murmur, looking up at the sky.

"So, Jarik is married?" Jinora suddenly asks, looking at me with extreme interest.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, he's married," I tell her.

"Who's he married too? Do you know her name? What she looks like?" she asks in quick succession.

"Spirits, now you're starting to sound like Ikki!" I exclaim in bewilderment.

Jinora glances away sheepishly, her face turning a little bit red from embarrassment.

"Sorry," she apologizes. "But seriously, what is she like?"

"He is purposefully refusing to answer," I grumble, and she pouts in disappointment. "All he's said was 'she's beautiful,' and leaves it at that."

"So he's keeping all of that a secret?" she asks in disappointment, before he eyes light up. "That's sooo romantic!"

I glance at her incredulously from how she's swooning over that.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah!" she replies eagerly. "He wants to keep his wife's beauty a secret because he doesn't want to reveal his private life! He loves her sooo much, that he can't fathom the idea of betraying his love for her by describing her to other people!"

I give her a look. "Having you been reading that historical love saga thing again?"

"No! Well... maybe- no!" Jinora declares firmly. "Besides, you must be living through that right now huh?"

"W-what?!" I exclaim in bewilderment.

"Y'know, because of Korra and Luon!" she emphasizes.

"Oh... well, sometimes it does get annoying whenever she kicks me out of our room so they can hang out together," I reply with a glum expression. "Seriously, it's my room too, not just hers!"

I get a sense of curiosity from Jinora, and although she withholds from the question, I can still sense it quite clearly.

I widen my eyes in shock and look at her incredulously. "NO, they aren't 'making love' with each other!"

She blinks in surprise, completely startled and caught off guard.

"What?" she asks. "But I didn't say any-"

"You were thinking it!" I retort.

"Oh..." she mumbles, turning bright red in embarrassment.

"Seriously, what kind of crap do you read? You're Tenzin's kid for spirits sake!" I ask her, completely baffled.

"I kind of... read it without permission..." she mumbles. "Although my mom knows."

"I'm... not even gonna ask anymore..." I sigh helplessly, and she just shrugs in acceptance.

_"Jinora, can you come here for a minute?" _Pema's voice suddenly rings across the courtyard.

"Okay mom!" she calls back, looking at me. "See you later?"

I offer her a small smile and a shrug in response, and she hops off the ledge, skipping away. I watch her go before turning around, sensing a presence approaching me quickly. I widen my eyes in alarm as Naga comes barreling me off the ledge to lay me flat on the ground, where she starts to repeatedly lick my face.

"Ahh! Naga! Ok ok ok!" I cry out, struggling to shove her snout away. "Okay! Good to see you to!"

"Well you've certainly got your hands full," I hear Korra remark nearby.

"What's her deal?!" I ask loudly.

I'm still flat on my back, struggling to keep her head away from my face. Naga continues to growl/whine in protest, still desperate to keep licking my face while holding her paws on my chest to keep me down.

"Someone's been neglecting Naga," Korra teases.

"Ok, do you want to spend more time together Naga? Is that it? Do you hate being cramped on this island?" I ask quickly in exasperation.

Naga suddenly loses her interest in me and charges off, and moments later I hear Korra's yelp of surprise before the same thing happens to her. I roll over onto my stomach to see Korra in the same position I was just in, and get to my feet with a wide grin.

"Yeah! Someone has been neglecting Naga!" I laugh, unable to help myself.

"Okay girl, okay okay!" Korra pleads desperately. "Can you help get her off of me?"

I roll my eyes in exasperation, still laughing over the karma that just slapped Korra in the face, and then jog on over. I'm by Naga's side in an instant, wrapping my arms around her neck and scratching her fur.

"Oh Naga! Who's a good girl? You are!" I coo at her.

She whines happily and moves away from Korra to accept my scratches instead, allowing my sister to get up.

"How about we go for a ride sometime later today, hmm?" I ask her.

"We know you want it," Korra adds, joining in on the other side of Naga.

The big cuddly polar bear dog wash her tail happily with her tongue lolling out of her mouth, clearly overjoyed by what we're saying. Once we've given her enough affection to satisfy her for the moment, she barks happily and rushes off into the trees, leaving me and Korra to sigh in relief.

"Thank the spirits," she remarks.

"Yeah. Wouldn't want her to be neglected, right Korra?" I say teasingly.

"Hey, you neglected her too!" she argues.

"I'm not the one who got a slap of instant karma to the face," I retort with a smug grin.

"Fine, you win," she groans.

We continue to bicker with each other as we make our way to our room, acting like the annoying siblings we are. When we get there, the telephone ringing interrupts us just as I was about to deliver another remark. We pause, looking at it before slumping our shoulders.

"I'll go get it," she sighs.

All of a sudden she slaps me in the face before rushing over to the phone.

"Geez!" I exclaim incredulously.

I bring a hand to my cheek, wincing from the stinging pain while she just laughs. She then picks up the phone and brings up the earphone and mouthpiece.

"Hello? Oh, hey Tenzin … Yeah we're free at the moment … What for? … Where are we going to meet you? … Okay, see you later."

She hangs up the phone, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"What'd he want?" I ask her.

"Tenzin wants us to get the team together and meet him at City Hall. Mako, Jarik, and Beifong are already there," she explains.

"What's Mako doing with them?" I ask in confusion.

"He's a police officer now, remember?" she reminds me.

"Oh, right."

* * *

**_Republic City Hall - Republic City_**

Having gotten Luon, Asami and Bolin, we made our way to City Hall in a new Satomobile. Thankfully, Asami had the foresight to get a car could carry six people, so I would no longer have to embarrass myself from sitting on Korra's lap every time we drove. It's not as maneuverable as the previous car, but if Team Avatar is going to be driving around a city, this is the one that we need, since Team Avatar is six people, not four.

Parking on the side of the street right in front of City Hall, we get out of the car to see Mako waiting for us. It's now late afternoon so the light is a bit dimmer, and the streetlights have no come on.

"Hey bro," Bolin greets, getting out. "Nice uniform."

"Thanks," he replies, glancing at it. "Standard issue, although no metal gauntlets."

I could tell he was slightly disappointed about not having cool gauntlets, but in the end he'd rather not have them. We begin our walk across the courtyard towards City Hall.

"Well, it's not like you're a metalbender," Luon comments.

"Are there even any police officers who aren't metalbenders?" Korra asks.

"Before you joined I thought you had to metalbend in order to be a cop," I admit.

"Yeah, it's pretty much just metalbenders," Mako confirms.

"Well doesn't that make you a special one," Asami teases.

A sudden cold wafting over me was the only warning I got, chilling me to the bone. I look up with wide eyes, spotting a dark figure leaping down from the top of City Hall. A glowing red lightsaber was clenched in their hands.

"Look out!" I exclaim in a panic.

I managed to push Korra out of the way, and the others just barely leapt to the side when the figure struck the ground with their lightsaber. I rolled to my feet and pulled out my green lightsaber, the others readying themselves as well. Fire forms on Korra and Mako's fists, Bolin gets into an earthbending stance, and Luon and Asami get into battle stances, staying further away out of caution.

The dark figure slowly stands up, and I instantly realize that this is not the Messenger, but someone else. They seem like a woman, and a very tall woman at that, but their skin is yellow, and two strange… tentacle things are hanging from her head. Her lightsaber hilt seems more like a staff, and a crackling red blade stuck out one end. It doesn't take a genius to realize that this is most likely Vyra Ren.

"You are the ones who defeated one of my Knights?" she speaks, her voice a scratching hiss.

She turns her head, and I shiver fearfully as those chilling, evil yellow eyes land on me.

"I expected more," she says in amusement.

"Oh yeah? We'll show you that when we pummel you like we did the Messenger!" Korra retorts, sounding a lot braver than any of us felt.

Vyra laughs in a response that's clearly meant to be mocking, sounding like a cackling witch.

"He is far below me little girl," she scoffs.

And then she strikes. I barely even saw it coming.

Vyra lunges forwards at me and Korra, kicking my sister in the face while also swinging her crackling, unstable looking lightsaber in my direction. I just barely raise my lightsaber to block it before our sabers connect, and then she backhands me in the face. I'm slammed into the ground from the hit with a pained groan, while Korra was sent flying several feet away from the kick.

Bursts of fire from Mako shoot for Vyra, but she evades them like a speed demon, without a care. Bolin sends two boulders flying at her, but she casually raises an arm to halt their advance, and sends them hurtling back in his direction. He and Mako both yelp in surprise and jump out of the way, the rock explosion sending them tumbling to the ground.

Getting to my feet, I raise my lightsaber and attempt to slice her back, but she whips around and deflects my lightsaber easily. She delivers two speedy strikes that I barely manage to block, and then in a simple move twists my lightsaber out of my grip, disarming me. She kicks me in the chest, and I stumble onto the ground in fright.

Korra gets back into the action, charging at Vyra with a yell and throwing large streams of fire. Vyra blows the fire away with a few waves of her arms, and then throws one of Bolin's projectiles with a flick of her finger. Korra just punches through the boulder, but she's suddenly gone from her sight when the dust clears. Vyra then appears to have jumped behind her, and swings her lightsaber with the intent to kill.

Getting back up, I thrust out my arms and blow a powerful Force push, managing to catch Vyra off guard. It blows into her, but to my disbelief she just goes along with it, landing on the ground with a graceful flip. She does look momentarily surprised though, before frowning.

"So you do have some skill," she muses with a hiss.

Having been out of the fight so far, Asami and Luon both use this to their advantage in an attempt to blindside Vyra. However she just thrusts her arm out at them, and they're both blown back from a powerful Force push, slamming against one of the columns of the building with pained cries, and collapsing to the ground.

"Luon!" Korra cries out fearfully.

Vyra then thrusts her arms out at me and Korra, and black-colored Force lightning streams from her fingertips, catching us both completely off guard. We're too shocked to prepare ourselves, and before we could move the lightning slams into us.

I scream in pain as the lightning burns my skin, while at the same time also being sent hurtling into a column. Korra hits the wall right beside me, and just as quickly as it happened, the lightning goes away. The stone actually cracked on our impact, and the signs of burning were evident with how our clothes and skin were smoking, leaving me groaning in pain.

Looking up through my daze, I spot Mako and Bolin once again preparing to go on the assault against Vyra, when a familiar figure suddenly jumps down out of nowhere, punching the latter in the head. He's thrown against the wall, the punch probably enhanced by the Force, and Mako only has a moment to look around in surprise before the Messenger also throws him away with a Force push.

Spotting my lightsaber nearby, I call it back over to me with the Force and slowly get to my feet, turning it on with heaving breaths. Korra is knocked out beside me, the other four also lying unconscious against the wall or a nearby column. Despair and helplessness washes over me as I watch Vyra and the Messenger advance forwards, their yellow eyes gleaming with sickening delight.

"Looks like you still have much to learn little one," Vyra smirks in amusement.

"He can learn that right after I beat his skull in," Messenger scoffs, snapping his lightsaber to life with a sharp hiss.

I grimace in pain, struggling not to flinch as every movement feels like I'm jumping into salt water with a massive sunburn. The pair of dark Force users slowly advance on me, and I shakily keep my green lightsaber held at my side. Just as I think they're about to attack, a warm and comforting presence in the Force gains my attention, and they both stop as well.

The doors of City Hall are slowly pushed open, allowing for golden light to spill out and into the dim sky, illuminating the figure walking out. Vyra and the Messenger both widen their eyes in surprise, and to my bewilderment there's even a hint of fear in them, although Vyra scowls hatefully to try and cover it up.

I look back to see the silhouette of a man walk through the doors, and then smile in relief as I recognize it as Jarik. He stops after walking a few feet, staring at the Knights of Ren with a stern gaze. After a few moments he pulls one of his lightsabers into his hand with the Force, the golden blade flaring brilliantly to life, and then twirls it into a ready stance, pointing it forwards with two fingers on his other arm outstretched.

"Jarik Shan," Vyra hisses furiously. "Must you meddle in everything?!"

"You only have Snoke to blame. He's the one who revealed himself to me when I was a kid," Jarik replies with a smirk.

"You will still die regardless!" she growls.

"Caran, you get the others out of here. Tenzin and Lin will help you," Jarik tells me firmly.

"R-right," I reply, and he smiles at me reassuringly.

Vyra and the Messenger both tense up, angling their lightsabers into ready stances, her blade still crackling in that weird, unstable appearance. I then gape in shock and nervousness when a second blade shoots out the other end, giving her a double-bladed lightsaber. At least the Messenger appears more subdued and uneasy in his movements.

Jarik smirks at them, the appearance of a double-bladed lightsaber doing nothing to unsettle him, and then leaps into action. I watch him jump into the air, a sense of awe filling me as he shoots down towards the two dark Knights, slashing his lightsaber when he gets close enough. At the same time as his slash he performs a flip to land on the ground behind them. Vyra and the Messenger deflected his first strike, the latter swinging his blade at him. Jarik whips around to block his attack, shoving away the Messenger's saber in a way that causes it to stop Vyra's attack as well.

I was completely in awe of that.

"Caran!"

I look over to see Tenzin and Lin rushing out, the latter instantly going to help the others while Tenzin waves me over.

"Come on, we have to help them up!" he urges.

Remembering their condition, I deactivate my lightsaber and grab Korra underneath her shoulders. She groans as I attempt to lift her up, and I grimace in annoyed exasperation, finding myself to weak to do more than drag her. Thankfully, Tenzin helps me out by also moving to lift Korra. The three of us work to bring the others into City Hall while the lightsaber fight rages on.

* * *

**Jarik POV…**

Facing these two Knights of Ren, I back up slowly as they go onto the attack, letting them think that they're pressuring me. Vyra strikes with a lot more grace, skill, and power, while the Messenger just tries to use his brute Force, not nearly as skilled in his attacks. I bat my single lightsaber in between them in a constant repetitive blocking style as I back up, luring them in.

I then duck under a swipe from Vyra and kick her in the chest to knock her to the ground. With her momentarily stopped, I turn my focus to Messenger and go onto the offensive. I easily strike past his defense and twist our blades to send his flying from his grasp, and then swing my left arm to deliver a painful punch to his face. There's a quiet clang as my metal fist collides with him, knocking him out cold onto the ground.

Vyra shrieks like a nightsister and then lunges forwards, striking down furiously with her saberstaff. I quickly evade her next few swings and then block one strike, kicking her away again.

She rolls backwards into a crouch and glares up at me with hateful eyes, while I continue to smile at her. Bringing up her lightsaber, she then splits the handle in half, making two lightsabers; what really surprises me is when the top few inches of the blade emitters separate from the main body of the the hilt. Some sort of chain about a foot long connects the blade emitter to the rest of the hilt, and she slashes them along the ground like two whips, the crackling blades tearing up the concrete.

"Huh. Well that's new," I admit.

"New enough to remove your head!" she seethes.

In a flash she leaps from the ground and twirls through the air, spinning her lightsabers around in chaotic swirls. But I've fought much faster Sith before, and backflip out of the way as they strike the ground. Looking up from the ground, I swing my lightsaber to bat away the flailing lightsabers, which she continues to slice and twirl with immense skill.

Her completely new style of saber fighting catches me off guard to the point where she manages to slip past my defense and deliver a few kicks to my legs, body, wherever. I'm still deflecting her lightsabers, but she's completely free to kick me. It's either I let her hit me and block the lightsabers, or I block her kicks and then get sliced up.

Our fight had now transitioned to between the wall and columns of City Hall, with her continuously advancing. When she finally kicks me in the head to send me stumbling back, I crouch along the ground with an irritated frown, getting a lot more serious. Pulling out my second lightsaber, I allow Revan's mask to snap into place over my head, and then turn back around to face Vyra.

She swings her sabers again, but I shy away from one and then duck underneath the other. Popping back up, I jump above her foot as she lashes out, and then kick her in the chest in retaliation. She stumbles into a column, and then thrusts her sabers out again. I weave in between them and then smack the crackling red blades to the side, lunging forwards. Vyra snaps her lightsaber flails back into two regular blades in order to block my overhead swing. I press down on her with my lightsabers, and she scowls at me before glancing to the side, a small smirk on her face.

Sensing the Messenger approaching, I glance back at him and then backflip away, avoiding an attempted stab from him. I twirl my lightsabers around to hold them in a Jar'Kai stance Ahsoka would be proud of, and wait for them to strike.

I don't have to wait long, as they both leap into action with a quick ferocity. I duck and weave between their blows, deflecting and blocking their lightsabers just as fast, resulting in a whirlwind of gold and red colors. We're all moving so fast that other people probably would barely be able to make out our forms, because we're enhancing our speed with the Force. However I can do so much more.

Reylea increases my power a hundredfold. Time to actually use it, and end this.

Flipping away from in between the Knights of Ren, I deactivate my lightsabers and turn to face them, letting my power grow. Vyra senses my intent and backs off uneasily, but the Messenger foolishly leaps at me, thinking he can strike me with my guard down, or so he thought. Without a though I thrust my arm out, and the Messenger finds himself slammed against a column within milliseconds, cracking the stone. He probably didn't even realize how he fell unconscious.

Vyra growls in rage and thrusts her fingertips out, shooting massive wreaths of Force lightning, powerful enough to startle even Darth Sidious: If it wasn't for Reylea.

I raise my right hand and block the lightning with a Force shield, absorbing it. I slowly move forwards, pushing against the lightning while she tries to overpower me. The area around us flashes brightly from the Force lightning, striking all around me and breaking the building, but never harming me. Finally reaching Vyra, I casually pull my right hand back and then smack her in the head with a backhand, sending her stumbling.

She backpedals with a grunt of pain, before swinging around with a lightsaber flail at my neck, moving faster than the eye could see. Even so, I raise my left arm and grasp her lightsaber with my metal hand. Not the lightsaber hilt, but the blade itself. Vyra's eyes widen in shock, and I lean closer, shoving her blade down with my arm's enhanced strength.

"What's wrong? Never dealt with some beskar before?" I ask sarcastically.

After the Galactic Civil War, I decided to remake my arm with beskar, otherwise known as Mandalorian iron. It can resist lightsaber strikes, which is why Mandalorian's use it for the armor, although prolonged exposure to a lightsaber still would melt it. Letting go of the blade to prevent it from melting my hand, I instead head-butt her, a metallic clang ringing from the impact thanks to my mask. She stumbles again, and I grip her arm before throwing her into the column to land beside the Messenger, who slowly begins to wake up. Walking up to them, I activate a single lightsaber and point it at the pair, letting my mask dissolve to reveal my glare.

"You're beaten, Knights of Ren," I state firmly.

Vyra looks up at my lightsaber, scowling with hate. The Messenger looks at me just as angrily, but is showing more fear in his expression. I glance to the side upon noticing the approach of the others, seeing that they've all regained consciousness, although some hold their sides or wherever due to being bruised or hurt. They stand a few feet behind me, and I return my focus to the Dark Knights, finding Vyra hissing at me.

"You're not the only one who displays fancy skills Shan," Vyra mocks.

I narrow my eyes at her, and then she begins to wave her arms around, chanting something low under her breath. To my surprise, clouds of black smoke billow out from her movements, black lightning streaking through it. She thrusts the cloud of dark side sorcery at me, and I create a Force shield to protect myself and the others. The black lightning cloud shoves and shrieks against me, forcing me back several feet. Calling upon the light side of the Force, I swipe my arm and cut through the black cloud with a mixture of golden lightning and Force energy. When the cloud dissipates, Vyra and the Messenger are nowhere to be found. I cast out my senses with the Force to try and find them, but they're cloaked in the Force, leaving no trace of their presence.

"Where'd they go?" Caran asks in a panic.

"Gone," I state, deactivating my lightsaber with a frown, mulling over what I just witnessed. "Some form of sorcery to help their escape."

"What, you mean they teleported or something?" Korra asks incredulously.

"I doubt it. A person can do many things with the Force, but teleportation isn't one of them," I reply, shaking my head. "That was just a distraction to slip away."

"Will they be back?" Asami asks.

"After this they'll be a lot more wary, working from the shadows. But you've proven a huge threat to their success, so they will try this again," I say grimly.

"Aw, let 'em come. You just kicked their butts! That was awesome!" Bolin exclaims. "You were like '_zoom, whish-whish-whooosh_,' lightsaber SLICE!"

He emphasizes his sound effects with exaggerated motions, popping around the group comically while pretending to wave a lightsaber, and then slicing his arms across.

"Ok, I think we get it bro," Mako says, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"That was cool though," Luon adds in agreement.

"You all still need to learn how to better combat them though. I can't be around forever," I tell them.

Caran nods his head, and I can see some of the others want to say something before Lin interrupts us.

"Unfortunately this discussion will have to wait," she states impassively. "Looks like people saw what happened."

We all look to the side to see some groups of people in the open courtyard in front of City Hall, looking at us. I can sense a mixture of surprise, confusion, fear, wonder, and mistrust. Most of that directed to me, and I don't blame them. Thanks to the Messenger they haven't had the best of experiences with Force users. A small number of people are also taking pictures with huge, flashing cameras that I can't help but frown at. Those things are really ancient in my opinion, honestly. They can even be held in one hand!

"Great. Now the media is going to be speculating nonsense," Luon sighs.

"I doubt much of it will be supportive," Tenzin says, glancing at me. "You should probably stay out of view for now."

"We'll also have to make a public statement about you now that your presence is known. Otherwise suspicion will only grow," Lin adds firmly.

"So… we're telling everyone all about the Jedi and stuff now?" Caran asks.

"Probably for the best. Your people are wary of Force users right now," I reason. Noticing a few people who look like reporters hastily approaching, I decide to make my exit. "Yeah I'm heading inside. I don't fancy talking to those guys."

Lin and Tenzin also notice, so they move to confront the growing crowd of people and reporters wanting questions while I make my way inside with the kids.

I will have to leave in a few days and get back to the New Jedi Order, since things are growing more heated now between us and the New Republic. The Republic has had no military, and urges keep the Jedi separated from government affairs despite our attempts to reason with them against that. And with of the rise of a new faction known as the First Order, they don't want to risk another war or risk government corruption like what Palpatine did. But Ahsoka and I have no doubt that Snoke is behind the First Order's rise, so they'll attack regardless.

It'll be the Taken War all over again.

For now though, keeping watch over Reylea is high on my to-do list. Snoke has his gaze on the planet, and Team Avatar isn't ready yet for another battle against the Dark Knights, specifically Vyra. Caran needs more training, especially considering how limited his strength in the Force actually is.

I just hope Vyra doesn't decide to strike again during my absence.

* * *

_Wow, intense chapter for sure! The Knights of Ren ambushes the team! Good thing Jarik was here, or else things would've been bad._

_His entrance purposefully mirrors Ahsoka's when she fought the two Inquisitors. That scene (and music) is epic. Also, Vyra has some strange lightsabers for sure! They're like medieval flails, and the blade itself is still straight, so it isn't a lightwhip. Dangerous stuff._

_Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and there's still more to come. Caran still has yet to talk to Jarik about what he learned from Qui-Gon, with Reylea having different realms! :O_

_Also... the Joker will be entering the picture soon._


	5. Chapter 5 - Going More Public

**_Air Temple Island - Republic City_**

**Caran POV...**

Since the attack against us by Vyra and the Messenger last night, a lot of the city has been abuzz with activity according to Tenzin and Lin. The press and loads of different journalists have posted several different news articles and newspapers already about the event, even having some pictures to go along with it!

Jinora is currently showing me an article from the United Post, a newspaper outlet, that's giving its version of events about the whole thing. Just seeing the headline of the paper makes me stick my tongue out and roll my eyes, already knowing that heads are going to be rolling.

"Wow... I just know Korra is going to freak out," I starts to say.

_"WHAT?! 'New Attackers Wipe the Floor with Team Avatar? AVATAR KORRA CAN'T PROTECT US?!' Are you kidding me!" _Korra's voice filters out from the dining hall.

"Just like that," I nod with a sigh.

"She's really taking this badly," Jinora says with wide eyes.

"Well, she no longer has a problem with accepting that there are people out there who can beat her in a fight," I reply with a shrug, grimacing. "It's when people think she's not up to it that she gets mad."

Speak of the devil, Korra comes storming into the bedroom with a newspaper held in her hand, Luon trailing behind her and looking at me with an expression that reads: HELP ME!

"Ugh! Can you believe this garbage?!" Korra fumes, pacing around and reading the paper. "'During the surprise attack last night, it seems that Avatar Korra was rendered useless in battle against the Messenger and his mysterious new partner, which have put her skills as the Avatar into question.' Do these people even realize how absurd that is?!"

"Well, we did get our butts kicked," Luon mumbles.

"W- they're saying we're worthless!" she retorts in angry exasperation. "Why is the media always trying to make me seem like a helpless 'damsel-in-distress?!'"

"Media sucks, get used to it."

All four of us look over and watch as Jarik speaks, while walking past us and further down the hallway without breaking a stride. We're silent for a few moments after he disappears before I shrug my shoulders, looking back at the newspaper.

"I suppose he does have a point," I comment.

"How am I supposed to help people as the Avatar if they keep claiming I'm worthless?" Korra demands, running a hand down her face.

"Are you seriously going to go through that depression faze again?" I ask her with a raised eyebrow.

"No," she replies, frowning at me. "You know what I mean!"

"It can't be that bad Korra. Besides, this whole thing isn't your fault," Luon reasons.

"If you say so," she sighs in resignation. "How is Jarik able to deal with being such a well-known figure?"

"Well, I'd imagine the entire galaxy has a lot more people than we do here on just one planet, so he's probably used to criticism," Jinora suggests, shrugging her shoulders. "Besides, he is kind of a war hero, so that pretty much makes him untouchable."

"Yeah, so is the Avatar," I scoff, rolling my eyes.

"Hey!"

"I don't mean you specifically!" I tell her, making wild gestures with my hands. "I mean the Avatar in general! They've been around for as long as people can remember, yet there's always someone trying to kill them."

"Fair point," Korra replies in acceptance.

"Political power can be gained from it to," Luon points out. "They do it all the time. Nothing new."

"What else has this thing said?" I ask, looking at the paper being held by Jinora.

"They've written about the fight and what they know happened, but most of the article talks about Jarik, Vyra, and the Messenger: what they could be, and where they've come from. Also... oh, wow, that's..." Jinora trails off.

"What now?" Korra sighs.

"Oh nothing," Jinora says, but I grab the paper and narrow my eyes at it.

"'Could the Avatar's brother, Caran, actually be a double agent working for these mysterious aliens like the Messenger?' Oh monkey-feathers!" I exclaim, tossing the paper aside and collapsing onto the bed with a groan, bringing my hands to my forehead.

"Now you get what it feels like?" Korra teases.

"Forget that! At least they don't think you're the agent of some deranged maniacs trying to conquer the world!" I shoot back.

"Oh wow!" Jinora comments.

"What?" I ask her.

"It says here that Chief Beifong is planning on holding a press conference later today to explain the situation," she informs us.

"Today?" Luon asks.

"Well that was quick," Korra remarks.

"A-are we supposed to be saying something? I'm from space too! I'm not ready for that!" I say nervously.

"Relax Caran, I'm sure Lin's gonna be doing the talking," Korra says reassuringly.

The door then opens, and we look up to see Tenzin enter the room.

"Korra, Caran, there's going to be a press conference this afternoon to explain the situation regarding Jarik and the Knights of Ren," he states. "Considering how heavily influenced by this you two are, you'll both need to be present."

I give Korra a glare, and she coughs innocently.

"Are we going to be talking?" she asks slowly, giving me a side-glance.

"Maybe a few remarks, but no," he replies, and she shoots me a triumphant look. "Jarik is actually going to be taking front and center after Lin explains what happened."

"Seriously?" I ask.

"Yeah, seriously," Jarik says, leaning against the side of the doorway.

Tenzin jumps briefly at his sudden appearance, but smooths his robes out and regains his typical stern demeanor. Korra and Jinora both giggle at the sight.

"I'm guessing you're kind of used to this stuff," Luon deduces.

"For the most part. I don't like it but, it is what it is. Politics and media is always brutal, but it's typically best to be up front and straightforwards with it, otherwise you'll be getting a whole bunch of conspiracy and distrust," he explains.

"Even for you?" I ask with wide eyes.

"Listen kid, you could be a real saint and completely, 100% total nicest guy in the universe, and you'd still have people who hate you," he says dryly. "that's just how it is when you're a public figure."

"Well that sounds stupid," I comment.

"Sure is," he replies.

* * *

**_Republic City Hall - Reylea_**

The square in front of City Hall was filled with several hundred people, probably over four hundred at the very least. Up front were a bunch of reporters, photographers and journalists, taking photos and waiting anxiously with their pen and paper, while other citizens stood in the large crowd behind them. A line of police officers stood a few feet behind the podium to provide security, along with a few ex-council members and politicians, including Senator Shuno. It was weird to see Mako standing with the police in his own uniform, but we just went with it.

Me, Korra and Tenzin stood with the assembled off to the side, Korra being the Avatar, Tenzin being a politician (I suppose?) himself, and me because I'm Korra's brother while also a Force user. Lin stood at the podium, gesturing for everyone to quiet down so she could begin speaking.

"As I'm sure you're all aware by now, Avatar Korra and the members of Team Avatar came under a surprise attack from the Messenger, as well as an alien accomplice of his. A reliable source reveals that this new alien is known as Vyra Ren and carries much higher authority than the Messenger, from wherever they originate," Lin starts off. "Luckily, the crisis was averted for now, and the two were forced to flee, thanks to support from a newfound ally of ours."

"How do we know this so-called 'ally' isn't in league with these aliens?" a reporter asks.

I resist the urge to roll my eyes and scoff, Korra feeling much the same way.

"Not long after the Anti-bending Revolution, he introduced himself to us, explaining that he is what people out in space call a 'Jedi.' I have had personal contact with him, and I can assure you that he is no threat to our world," she states firmly.

"Why have the police, the Air family, and Team Avatar kept this secret for so long, specifically in regards to Avatar Korra's brother?" one reporter demands.

"Until the appearance of the Messenger, there was no real danger or reason for revealing that information," Lin replies.

"Are these aliens also responsible for the presence of Avatar Korra's adopted brother, Caran, and why they carry such dangerous powers?" another asks.

"I have no comment," she says.

"How can the people be assured that we're safe when the possible threat of an alien invasion is moments away?" some shouts.

"We're doing everything in our power to capture these criminals, and learn more about these possible threats," Lin reports.

"Who are these aliens? How can the people know this 'Jedi' is of no danger to us?" someone asks.

"How do we know he isn't another Amon?!"

All of these insane questions make it hard not to be irritated, but I do my best to shove it down and push back on negative emotions like Jarik has been telling me. Lin then turns her head to the side and gives a subtle nod, before turning her gaze back on the crowd.

"I have no more comments to give as of now, neither does the police force. However, our new ally was kind enough to come here himself to answer your questions," Lin declares, turning around and gesturing with her arm. "Allow me to introduce Jedi Master, Jarik Shan."

Gasps and surprised murmurs ring out from the crowd as Jarik steps into view and approaches the podium. Dozens of cameras flash while Jarik and Lin stop beside each other for a handshake and exchange a few words. He then steps up to the podium while Lin moves back to stand with the police force.

"Thank you Chief Beifong," he says with a nod, looking out to the crowd. "As she has just stated, my name is Jarik Shan and I'm a member of the New Jedi Order from many star systems away in the galaxy. I'd like to start off by extending my greetings to you all, as I hope to form a positive relationship with your world."

In an instant, a multitude of voices all start asking questions. Most of them are the common, general questions like: "Where did you come from?"

"I come from the Galactic Republic, which is a government system not that unlike to your own United Republic of Nations, only it spans across countless planets to maintain peace and prosperity among its citizens."

"What does your title of 'Jedi Master,' mean?"

"As a Jedi, I carry an ability known as the Force. Every Jedi carries a different rank within the Order, such as Padawans, Knights, and Masters. Because of my greater experience, knowledge, and power in the Force, I'm assigned the rank of Master."

"How many more of you are there up in space?"

"There aren't as many Jedi as one would think. We're still a growing organization at the moment," Jarik replies with a small smile. "In regards to much broader questions however, there are thousands of planets in the galaxy much like yours, with people of their own."

"Thousands?!"

"How are we supposed to protect ourselves from your planets if some prove to be dangerous?" a reporter demands.

"This planet isn't known to the public where I'm from, so there's no reason for you to worry about that. The only danger at the current moment is Vyra Ren and her acolyte, who you know as Messenger," he explains.

"Are the Messenger and Vyra Ren members of your Jedi Order?" somebody questions.

"No, they aren't aligned with the Jedi," Jarik states firmly. "They are known as the Knights of Ren, a group of Force-users that practices a darker side of the Force, seeking domination and power. They serve a higher political regime known as the First Order."

"What danger does the First Order represent?"

"The First Order is mostly the remnants of an Empire that had previously ruled over the galaxy many years ago before its defeat," he explains. "As of right now, tensions between the New Republic and the First Order have led to a Cold War."

"Why would the First Order target our planet if we're mostly unknown?"

"The leader of the First Order, a being named Snoke, seeks to control your world for a multitude of reasons which I won't reveal at this time. However, I do not believe that an invasion is not a pressing concern for the moment. Your planet is unique because your population possesses the art of bending. The Messenger was an agent sent by Snoke to use Amon as a tool so they could get rid of it, thus making an invasion easier."

There's a murmur throughout the crowd as Jarik reveals that part, before more questions are asked.

"If bending is unique to our planet, then what gives you and the Avatar's brother this power you call 'the Force?'" a reporter asks. "Is it also a unique form of bending?"

"No, the Force isn't a bending form," he informs them. "Most people throughout the galaxy don't carry it, much like how some of your population consists of 'nonbenders.' However there are a select few who are born with a stronger sensitivity than others. Korra's younger brother, Caran, is an example of that."

I shrink down timidly for a moment as attention is momentarily drawn to me, and Korra pats my shoulder comfortingly.

"When did you come here, and why?" a reporter asks.

Jarik remains silent for a moment as he goes through his thoughts before responding.

"For a long time, I've been searching for your planet on the basis of simple legends and folklore, to confirm its existence and protect it from others out there with bad intentions," Jarik explains, looking out at everyone. "Upon my arrival it was clear that Snoke's agents have already found it, and I was even more surprised to find another Force user in the presence of Caran."

He takes a moment before continuing.

"Without a teacher of his own, Caran could only progress so far, and he wouldn't be able to face enemies much like last night. That's why I've decided to remain here, so that he can learn everything he needs to know about the Force, and to keep your world from falling under the First Order's rule."

* * *

**_Air Temple Island - Republic City_**

Throughout the rest of the press conference, Jarik didn't say too much more of anything that was new, just answering some of their questions with basic answers. I could tell that plenty of people were annoyed or upset when he would decide not to give an answer on certain questions, such as when they asked on a more personal level. He wouldn't go too in depth with anything either, especially about the real reason why Snoke wants Reylea, which I can understand for the most part.

After that was all finished, Lin closed it out with a few more comments before everyone dispersed, the police keeping the crowd of reporters back at a distance as they tried surge closer, shouting more questions. We then headed back to Air Temple Island to rest for the remainder of the day. I still had some things I wanted to talk to Jarik about from what Qui-Gon told me.

"Hey Jarik?" I ask, stepping into the guest room where he's sitting on the bed, reading something.

"Yeah?" he replies, looking up.

"Could I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure," he says, gesturing to a nearby chair. I sit down, and he looks at me with a thoughtful frown on his face. "I can tell you've got something heavy over your mind."

"Yeah, it's something Qui-Gon told me," I say with a nod.

He narrows his eyes in interest, leaning forwards slightly. "What about?"

"Well, when I spoke to him, he told me all about how Reylea can increase a Force user's power, a little bit about the Messenger, all of that stuff," I start off, and he nods. "He also talked to me about how the planet has different worlds and stuff."

"You mean like the Spirit World?" he replies.

"Yeah, but a lot more. He said they were different 'dimensions,' or 'realities.'"

"Different realities?" he asks in surprise. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"He said that Reylea's Force power is so strong that it was stretched across a bunch of different realities," I explain, frowning as I try to remember the details. "I think he explained it as those 'realities,' or whatever, still claiming the same exact place as Reylea, only they're completely different worlds. Reylea and the Spirit World are just two of those; he did mention one of them being called Xadia."

Jarik sits on the bed with his hands clasped underneath his chin, a deep frown on his face. He sits there for a while as he thinks about it, and then finally looks back up at me.

"How exactly does the Spirit World connect to Reylea?" he asks.

"Tenzin would be better at this, but I do know that if you are high enough in spirituality then you could cross over through meditation, although only with your spirit. And you can't use bending in the Spirit World," I tell him.

"And the Avatar's role again?"

"The Avatar is meant to be the bridge between the Spirit World and the physical world," I state.

"So both worlds are definitely more connected than the others," he murmurs, slowly nodding his head and sighing. "Are there other was of entering the Spirit World?"

"Not that I know of," I admit.

"If there are multiple realities beyond just the Spirit World connected to yours, then there has to be a doorway somewhere, or a flaw," he states.

"A flaw?"

"I'm no expert on the theory of the Multiverse, but every dimensional plane shares some kind of connection that allows things to crossover. Be it a flaw in hidden barriers, or a direct pathway," he explains.

"Do you think we could find it?" I ask him.

"I don't know if we should," he admits uneasily, silent for a moment before asking a question. "Did Qui-Gon tell you if anybody else knew?"

"I think Snoke does," I tell him.

"I was afraid of that," he sighs. "I'll have to talk to Ahsoka about this."

"Your wife?" I ask.

"Yes. For now though Caran, I don't want you to tell anyone about the existence of these other realities," he says.

"Huh? Why not?" I ask in confusion.

"It's hard enough to understand the full extent of Reylea already, and this would just make it even harder," he explains. "Until I know more, I don't want to risk the possibility of Vyra learning what you know."

"But if Snoke knows, wouldn't she know too?" I point out.

"Probably, but they don't know that we know. And I'd rather not they don't learn that from someone."

"None of us would tell them!" I insists irritably.

"I'm not saying you would. But there are ways a Force user can uncover secrets from an unwilling person, and it isn't pretty," he tells me firmly. "You're the only one so far who would have a chance at repelling their influence."

I blink my eyes in surprise at the statement, a little bit nervous after hearing what he said, but I nod my head in reluctant understanding.

* * *

_LATER THAT NIGHT_

* * *

Me, Korra, Tenzin, Luon and Lin all stand in the field on the side of the island, seeing off Jarik since he's about to leave. Apparently he had a way of bring his ship over to him without flying it himself, using something he called a 'droid.' Whatever that is.

"How long will you be gone?" Korra asks.

"A few weeks, give or take," Jarik replies, approaching his ship.

"I hope it won't be too long," I add.

"Don't worry Caran, you haven't gotten rid of me yet," he states with a small smirk.

"I wish you luck in how things will progress in your government Jarik," Tenzin says.

"Jedi don't believe in luck," he replies, and we all blink our eyes in surprise. "At least the old Order didn't. I'm fine with it."

Tenzin sighs in exasperation, while a few of us laugh quietly behind his back.

"One more thing," Jarik adds.

He pulls something out from his belt and then tosses it over to me. Startled, I barely manage to catch it, and then hold it up with a confused frown at the sight of some small circular device.

"What is it?" I ask him.

"It's a transmitter, so that you can call me in a moment if you ever need to," he replies, and we all look at him in surprise.

"All the way across space?" Luon asks incredulously.

"On that tiny thing?" Korra adds.

"Yup. It's simple stuff in the galaxy," he says, nodding. "It takes several hours going through hyperspace to get here but, you can call me whenever."

"Wow, thanks," I tell him with a smile.

"I suppose we can also contact you if we get any new information about the Knights of Ren," Lin states.

"Please do. But for the love of the Force, please do not engage Vyra in battle if you can avoid it," he says seriously. "You saw all what she's capable of, and Caran, you aren't a match for her."

"I understand," I reply with a nod.

"What about the Messenger though? We've dealt with him before," Korra points out.

"You have, but I still think you should be careful," he replies in warning. "He's not as dangerous, but he could have been holding back. Never lower your guard if they show up."

"Very well then Jarik. Safe journeys," Tenzin says.

Jarik gives us a small smile of farewell and then walks towards his ship, the ramp beneath it opening. He steps inside, and a few long moments later the ship lifts off into the air with lots of noise, blowing up a bit of dust and sand from the engines on the back. We cover our faces as it takes off, and then look on as it quickly disappears into a blur of light that hovers high in the sky like a bright star. It sits there for a second, and then zooms away in a flash.

"To think that you arrived in something like that," Korra remarks.

"Problem?" I ask with a raised eyebrow.

"No, no problem," she shrugs in reply. "Gotta wonder what it's like up there."

"Well, we know they have weird skin," Luon comments.

"They're different species Luon. That doesn't mean they're much different from us," Tenzin chides.

"Was I being disrespectful?" he shoots back, before adding: "Sir?"

"If you kids are done messing around, I have to get back to work," Lin states in her usual business mode.

"This late at night?" I ask her.

"Crime doesn't sleep Caran," she replies.

"Hey Lin, maybe we could help with that," Korra suggests, taking a quick step forwards. "You know? Getting Team Avatar back together? Fighting crime?"

Lin looks back at us with narrowed eyes, while Korra, Luon and I all smile at her innocently and hopefully. She sighs in aggravation but reluctantly nods her head in acceptance.

"Fine. But not tonight, you understand?" she demands.

"Yes chief!" we all reply in unison, and Korra grins at her, giving a salute.

Lin walks away grumbling while Tenzin sighs, looking down at us with a raised eyebrow.

"You know this doesn't excuse you from airbending practice right?" he tells Korra.

"Yeah yeah, I know. Air, win, blah blah blah," Korra replies with a dull groan, waving her hand in exaggeration.

Tenzin narrows his eyes at her, and Luon chips in, slinging an arm around Korra's shoulders and giving him a wide smile.

"I'll make sure she doesn't miss your lessons if that helps!" he says.

"Wha- who's side are you on?" Korra demands, elbowing him in the stomach.

"You better not be waking me up, or else I'll sick Naga on you," I add with a small smirk.

"You're going to be doing some training of your own Caran. This is not break time for you," Tenzin adds, turning to glare at me.

"What? did you not see the ship fly off with my teacher?!" I exclaim, while Korra snickers at me.

"Oh I did. And Jarik made sure to give me several teaching methods to keep you busy until he returns," he retorts calmly.

I walk away, grumbling to myself while Korra snickers behind me back, Luon walking beside her with his hands in his pockets and trying to appear innocent.

* * *

_FOUR DAYS LATER_

* * *

**_Republic City - Reylea_**

**3rd person POV...**

The sounds of fighting and battle could be heard from a warehouse in one of the more 'ghetto' sections of Republic City.

Inside the warehouse, several members of the Agni Kai triad were under siege from a rival crime syndicate, having been subjected to a surprise attack. Six Agni Kai members were kept pinned behind a few storage crates in one corner of the room, shooting out blasts of fire at their attackers, who wore clown masks. The masked thugs had their own variety of benders, ranging from all three different elements. However one of the masked clowns was not a bender, but instead carried a new weapon that many criminals were coming to learn is called a blaster.

"Oh, all the old familiar places," the clown remarks, aiming his blaster and shooting one of the Agni Kai's in the head. "I really like these things..."

"Dakem!" one of the Agni Kai's shouts in alarm when his partner is shot.

"You ready to give it up yet?" one of the clowns asks.

"We're never giving up our territory to the Joker's Gang!" the Agni Kai member shouts furiously.

"Huh. Suit yourself," the clown shrugs.

The masked members of the Joker's Gang all move in closer, some of the earthbenders bringing up walls of earth to block the fire. Before they could progress further however, the windows at the top of the building all smash open, calling everyone's attention to it. Jumping through is Avatar Korra, Caran, and the rest of Team Avatar, Caran having his green lightsaber activated. They all land in the center of the warehouse between both gangs, Luon and Asami having their fall softened with some help from Caran.

"Alright! Which one of you hoodlums is first?" Korra demands with a grin.

The two gangs are silent for a moment, surprised at the sight of Team Avatar, before they all go onto the attack without hesitation. The clown carrying the blaster slowly backs away, muttering to himself before slipping through an exit door without anyone noticing.

"I guess that's a no then," Mako says dryly.

Korra and Bolin both create a rock wall around them all, allowing the first wave of attacks to stop harmlessly against it. Bolin then lowers his side, allowing Mako to shoot out blasts of fire, while Korra simply kicks the entire wall on her side at the clowns. They all leap desperately out of the way, although one unlucky clown gets slammed against the far side of the warehouse. An earthbender throws a boulder at her, but Caran leaps in and slices it apart with his lightsaber.

Asami then moves forwards toward the Agni Kai's with her electric glove sparking, Mako and Bolin right on her heels. She ducks underneath a fiery punch from one and then delivers a few quick jabs to knock him back, and then flips another guy over her shoulders as he tries to blindside her, shocking him on the ground. Mako delivers a swipe of fire to hit one of the thugs, and blocks the flames of another. Bolin enters the fray by ramming into a thug with his shoulder, slamming him against the wall, and then throwing another into the air with a pillar of earth underneath his feet.

"Hah! Enjoy your flight!" he shouts with a grin.

On the other side of the warehouse, Korra, Caran and Luon all charge forwards at the masked clowns. An assortment of water and earth is sent their way, but Korra redirects the water in an icy ball while Caran raises a hand to stop the rocks harmlessly in midair. Korra then kicks the biggest rock he stopped, sending it hurtling into the gut of one of the clowns. He collapses to the ground with a groan of pain, breathless, and then Luon makes his own move forwards. He ducks underneath a water whip and sweeps the bender off of his feet, standing up to block a punch from another.

Caran swings his lightsaber to cut through a volley of rocks, and then raises his arm to blow two earthbenders against the wall. Two waterbenders chuck spikes of ice at Korra, but she deftly slips by and melts the ice into water, flinging it back at them with a grunt. One of the waterbenders is slammed against a wall and frozen there, while the other gets a stream of water underneath his chin in the form of an uppercut, knocking his mask off.

It doesn't take long before all of the criminals are knocked out, the last one collapsing to the ground with a groan when Asami shocks him with her glove.

"Well that was easy," Caran remarks, turning off his lightsaber

"No! Don't you dare jinx it!" Bolin cries out.

From behind a large storage crate, a masked clown quietly sneaks up on Caran without anybody noticing, raising his arm in preparation to shoot a bast of fire. Before he could however, Caran casually raises his arm and blasts him to the Force without even looking.

"Oh," Bolin says dumbly.

"I'll admit, I kinda missed this, even if we only did it for one night before Tarrlok arrested us," Asami remarks, fluffing up her hair. "Beats running a company, that's for sure."

"Yep, nothing brings joy better than kicking the spirits out of a few punks," Korra says with a sigh.

"You scare me sometimes," Luon says, giving her a look.

"And I find that funny!" she chirps happily, slinging her arms around him.

Luon stands there stiffly, unsure of how to respond without fear of setting the Avatar State loose. Caran makes mock gagging expressions while Asami giggles at the sight. Korra takes notice, and makes a face at him.

"The Chief will definitely be happy about this," Mako comments, looking around the warehouse. "Plenty of stuff to look through here I'm sure."

"You think she'll give us a few medals for our 'valor?'" Bolin asks him hopefully.

"It doesn't work that way Bolin," Mako replies with a frown, giving him a look.

"Come on, we've found five different thug warehouses already after just four days of work! That's more than the police did this past week and a half!" he exclaims.

Mako stares at him with an irritated expression, and Bolin falters, before patting his shoulder with a small smirk. "I'm sure you dd your best big bro."

"By the way, you're welcome?" Caran adds, raising an eyebrow.

"I humbly thank you for your expertise and wisdom, oh wise Jedi Padawan," Bolin says with an exaggerated bow.

"I can't believe you're picking up so easily on all of these different criminal hideouts Caran," Asami remarks, sounding impressed.

"Well, Jarik has helped me in furthering my senses, and tapping into Reylea's power to do so," he replies with a sheepish smile.

"No wonder you always found me in hide-and-seek," Korra mutters with a frown.

* * *

**_Joker's Gang HQ - Republic City_**

Inside a dark room within the headquarters of the Joker's Gang were Vyra and the Messenger, in conversation with each other. Vyra was seated as a desk while Messenger paced around, his arms crossed.

"Jarik Shan has officially revealed himself to the public and exposed our plans," Messenger says with a growl. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"We wait," she replies simply.

"Wait for what? For that young brat to keep interfering with building our forces here?" he demands.

"Need I remind you, that your inability to kill him is what brought us into this mess," Vyra states with deadly calm, giving him an icy glare.

Messenger backs off with a reluctant inclination of his head. "Apologies, master."

"Shan revealing himself and us to the public made be a nuisance, but it is not of much concern," she continues. "According to the Supreme Leader, Shan has returned to the New Republic for the time being."

"Here's not here?" Messenger says in surprise. "Then let's strike the Avatar and her friends now, while Shan is not here to protect them!"

"We will do no such thing, Scar'lok," she says, shooting down the idea. "Killing those children is not our goal... at least, not yet."

"Then what were we doing before, if not trying to kill them?" he asks incredulously. "Did you want for Shan to face us?!"

"It was a test. If you recall, the plan is to keep the Avatar and her friends occupied until the Harmonic Convergence," Vyra states with a glare of contempt, yellow eyes glowing. "She will be needed then, and killing one of their friends will only draw further attention from the Shan's. They would hunt us."

"Hunt us?" he asks doubtfully.

"Don't underestimate their powers when combined, Scar'lok," she warns him. "The Taken King made that mistake, and it cost those vile creatures dearly."

The door then opens up, and they look over to see the Joker walking inside, tossing his clown mask carelessly on the desk with a humph.

"Well, that whole 'Team Avatar' is certainly some nasty business," he remarks, fiddling with his blaster.

"You fought them?" Messenger questions.

"Not really, I just cut my losses and left while I could," Joker replies, straightening his jacket.

"Why would you flee like a coward? You were supposed to gain control of that territory," Messenger growls.

"Hey hey hey, why all the big fuss lizard man?" he asks.

Messenger narrows his eyes with a low growl at the remark and Joker sighs, licking his lips.

"Look, you let me do things my way, and I'll let you do... whatever it is you aliens do. We're business partners, right? You don't run this town. Oh by the way, did you know that the Agni Kai's are total losers?" he suddenly asks, rounding on Vyra. "I nicely asked them if they wanted to join us, and they said no! Can you believe that?"

"Nicely?" she asks, raising a brow.

"Well, I made have shot one of their guys and already started the assault," he admits with a grin, snickering. "B-but that's not the point. You see, I've got a much bigger objective in mind really soon."

"How so Joker?" she questions, intrigued.

"After all of that Amon stuff, which, by the way, he totally stole my clown mask idea, they didn't get much free reign over their territories because of all the chi-blockers, so they actually worked together and shared banks to store their money."

"Are you saying you want to rob them?" Messenger asks with a frown.

"Sure, why not? It'll be fun!" Joker says with a wild grin. "It'll totally get their attention.

Messenger wants to scoff at the idea, but Vyra gives him a hard look before looking back at the Joker, a cold smile on her face.

"That sounds intriguing," she comments.

* * *

_THE NEXT DAY_

* * *

**_Republic City - Reylea_**

Things in Republic City have been relatively normal ever since the Anti-Bending Revolution ended. And with Team Avatar and the police department continuing their strikes against all of the different criminals and gangs in the city, crime has been dwindling. People feel a lot safer and more comforted, and nonbenders especially don't have to worry as much about the bending triads extorting them for yuans.

Still, that doesn't mean crime is gone.

It's the middle of the day, a time where nobody would think anyone would dare attempt suspicious activity. Yet the window on one of the skyscrapers standing next to a bank is blown open by two criminals inside, both of them wearing clown masks. The thug next to the window gestures to his partner, who pulls out a hook attached to a thin cable. He hands it over, and the first thug looks out at the building beside them for a moment, and then uses metalbending to shoot the hook over to the bank.

Nearby, down in the streets far below, a single man stands at the edge of a curb. He's in a simple gray jacket and gray pants, with a large empty bag slung over his shoulder. He continues to stand completely still, looking down at the ground with his messy green hair partially obscuring his face. In his hand he's holding a clown mask of his own by his side, which is shifted into a scowl.

An eager smirk pulls across the Joker's lips as a van stops in front of him for pickup.

* * *

_I'm sure you all recognize the last section of this chapter, so you know what that means... The Dark Knight plot line is starting! :D_

_Once again, I just want to confirm once and for all (I'm sure I've said this before but whatever lol) that Batman DOES NOT exist in the Shaniverse! Not on Reylea, or on Earth! Not at all!_

_Thank you. :)_


	6. Chapter 6 - Criminal Activities

**_Republic City; Reylea_**

**3rd person POV...**

Things in Republic City have been relatively normal ever since the Anti-Bending Revolution ended. And with Team Avatar and the police department continuing their strikes against all of the different criminals and gangs in the city, crime has been dwindling. People feel a lot safer and more comforted, and nonbenders especially don't have to worry as much about the bending triads extorting them for yuans.

Still, that doesn't mean crime is gone.

It's the middle of the day, a time where nobody would think anyone would dare attempt suspicious activity. Yet the window on one of the skyscrapers standing next to a bank is blown open by two criminals inside, both of them wearing clown masks. Dopey, the thug next to the window, gestures to his partner, Happy, who pulls out a hook attached to a thin cable. He hands it over, and Dopey looks out at the building beside them for a moment, and then uses metalbending to shoot the hook over to the bank.

Nearby, down in the streets far below, a single man stands at the edge of a curb: Bozo. He's in a simple gray jacket and gray pants, with a large empty bag slung over his shoulder. He continues to stand completely still, looking down at the ground with his messy green hair partially obscuring his face. In his hand he's holding a clown mask of his own by his side, which is shifted into a scowl.

A van comes to a screeching stop on the corner, and Bozo pulls his mask on and jumps inside quickly, allowing the van to drive off again. He starts to check his blaster, making sure it's working properly. All of the clowns on this heist have a blaster of their own, thanks to their benefactors.

"Three of a kind, let's do this," the clown at the wheel, Grumpy, says.

"That's it? Three guys?" the third clown, Chuckles, asks in confusion.

"Two guys on the roof. Every guy gets a share, five shares is plenty," Grumpy states.

"Six shares. Don't forget the guy who planned the job," Chuckles reminds him.

"He thinks he can sit it out and still take a slice," he scoffs.

"I know why they call him the Joker," Chuckles replies sarcastically.

Up above the streets, Dopey and Happy both attach their hooks to the metal line and jump out of the window, sliding down the cable to the roof of Republic National Bank. They drop off onto the roof and quickly scramble to their feet, collecting their bags and rushing over towards an electrical breaker. As they stop by it and start working on getting their tools out to break in, they start up conversation.

"So why do they call him the Joker?" Happy asks.

"I heard he wears make-up," Dopey replies.

"Make-up?" he asks, smashing open the access panel.

"Yeah, to scare people. Y'know, war paint," he replies.

Back down on the ground, the van pulls up to a stop in front of Republic National Bank, and the three clowns quickly get out and make their way inside. All three carry empty bags and, being nonbenders, have blasters with them as well; Grumpy has a semi-automatic gun. Chuckles however is an earthbender, and therefore doesn't need a gun.

Running inside past the Bank Manager's Office, Grumpy starts shooting his blaster into the air to create a loud and frightening sound. The Bank Manager looks up, and people start to scream as the criminal clowns rush into the bank, quickly taking control. A security guard whips around at their entry, but Chuckles quickly stomps his foot and shoots a pillar of earth into the guards chin, knocking him out. Bozo and Grumpy make their way forwards with their blasters raised all customers and employees alike.

"Alright everybody, hands up heads down!" Grumpy orders. "I said hands up heads down!"

Bozo places his bags onto a table while Chuckles works with Grumpy at the front of the bank to round up the people. One of the tellers raises his hand fearfully as Grumpy approaches with his gun.

"No, please!" he pleads.

"Let's go pal I'm making a withdrawal here!" Grumpy snaps, yanking him over the side and onto the ground.

Another teller quickly moves her hand down to press a small button on the side of her desk, but Chuckles notices and moves over in her direction.

"I said hands up!" he exclaims.

He yanks the woman over the side of the desk and onto the ground, shoving her against the wall while she screams fearfully. He and Grumpy get all of the customers and employees rounded up, forcing them to crouch on the ground against the sides of the desks, their hands completely in view. Having checked all of the bags, Bozo slips them onto his shoulders and starts making his way around, handing people grenades and pulling the pin.

Up top, Happy works at the electrical panel to disable the alarm, grinning underneath his mask.

"Here comes the silent alarm… and there it goes," he says triumphantly before frowning. "That's funny, it didn't dial out to the police it was trying to reach a private number."

"Is it a problem?" Dopey asks, quietly raising his arm.

"No I'm done here-" Happy replies.

Before he could finish his sentence, Dopey uses his metal bending to shoot out a hidden piece of metal underneath his sleeve. The metal punctures through Happy's back and cuts through his spine, directly through his heart; he's dead before he realizes it. Without any time to waste, Dopey grabs the tool bag and rushes for the stairwell, making his way down into the bank for the vaults.

Having already known the layout of the bank, he reaches the vault very easily and gets to work. Since the vault door is made of platinum, he's unable to metal bend it, and instead uses a special drill to start cutting through. As he works on cutting through, a sudden electrical spark from the drill has him collapsing on the ground with a startled cry.

Back in the bank, Bozo continues to distribute the grenades to all of the hostages while Chuckles keeps the security guards subdued. Grumpy stands in the middle of the room and looks around, his blaster raised in warning.

"Obviously we don't want you doing anything with your hands other than holding on for dear life," he states.

On the other side of the room, the Bank Manager slowly sits up in his chair and takes off his glasses, staring at the clowns with dull, angry eyes. He focuses his gaze on the clown closest to him, Chuckles, who smacks his arm down on the back of a security guard, causing him to collapse with a grunt of pain.

"On the ground, stay on the ground!" Chuckles yells. "Nobody make a move! Nobody!"

Without a moment to waste, the Bank Manager makes a few gestures with his fingers and then points them out at Chuckles. A powerful streak of lightning breaks through the glass of his office and strikes Chuckles in the back. He lets out a scream of pain as he's fried by the lightning, and then falls to the ground dead.

Bozo and Grumpy look over in surprise and quickly rush for cover as the Bank Manager gets up, storming over to them with a furious gleam in his eyes. The Manager looks over to where Bozo hid, and thrusts his fingers out again. Bozo ducks as the lightning explodes against the desk he was hiding behind, and he quickly rushes over to the next desk. More lightning strikes follow after him, but Bozo manages to just barely stay covered by the desks he runs behind, eventually reaching the last desk with Grumpy. Customers let out screams of fear every time a lightning strike gets to close.

"You have any idea who you're stealing from?! You and your friends are dead!" the Bank Manager yells.

"He needs a few seconds, right?" Grumpy asks quietly.

Bozo looks up into the air thoughtfully for the moment, and then quickly nods his head. Standing up, Grumpy raises his blaster in preparation to shoot, but the Bank Manager unleashes another shot of lightning that badly strikes against his shoulder, causing him to grunt in pain.

"Ah! What the-" he groans in surprise, ducking back down.

Having known the proper time difference between a lightning bender's shots, Bozo lunges out before he could react and raises his blaster, quickly shooting a barrage of red lasers that impacts against the Bank Manager. He stumbles for a moment in pain, and the collapses onto the ground with a quiet groan. Bozo silently observes the Manager with a tilt of his head, and Grumpy gets up in bewilderment.

"Where did you learn to count?!" he asks incredulously.

Bozo looks back at Grumpy, but doesn't answer.

Back with Dopey in the vault, he's close to cutting through the door, although the electrical discharge from the door that shocked him still has him bewildered. Grumpy then runs in with the bags, getting them all set for collecting the money.

"The wire just sent out like several thousand volts. What kind of bank does that?" he asks.

"Mob bank," Grumpy states, giving a small chuckle of understanding. "I guess the Joker's as crazy as they say. Where's the alarm guy?"

"The boss told me when the guy was done I should take him out," Dopey replies, unlocking all of the vault mechanisms. "One less share right?"

Grumpy pulls out his blaster, a small smile on his face. "Funny. He told me something similar."

Dopey stills in his movements, his eyes going wide with fear.

"Wh- what? No, no!" he cries out, whipping around.

Grumpy aims his blaster at Dopey and shoots him down without a care. Standing up, he opens the vault door and rushes in with his bags, where heaps of yuans lie sitting on their tables, all wrapped up neatly. Grumpy throws one of his bags down and rushes up to a pile, grabbing armfuls and shoveling it into his bag gleefully. Once all of the bags are filled, he brings them back up into the lobby, where Bozo helps him drag all of the bags into a single pile by the doors.

"That's a lot of money," Grumpy remarks. "If this Joker guy was so smart he'd have us bring a bigger car."

Bozo then hears the sound of a blaster being loaded, and slowly turns around to see Grumpy aiming his gun at him.

"I'm betting the Joker told you to kill me as soon as we loaded the cash," he states with narrowed eyes.

Bozo sighs, lifting his arm up to check the watch on his wrist.

"No, no no no, I kill the bus driver," he says.

Bozo starts to slowly step to the side, and Grumpy follows him with his blaster raised, a frown on his face. Bozo continues to turn, making it so that Grumpy is standing directly in front of the doors.

"Bus driver?" Grumpy demands. "What bus driver?!"

Moments later, the door wall explodes open as the back of a Republic City school bus bursts its way through. Grumpy only has a moment to look behind him in shock before the bus slams into him, knocking him several feet away on his back. His skull was hit by the bus, leaving him dead the moment he hits the floor. The bus driver then gets out of the back and rushes over to the bags, glancing for a moment at Grumpy.

"School's out, time to go," he says in amusement. "That guy's not getting up is he?"

Bozo starts grabbing the money bags and tossing them over to the bus driver, who in turn tosses them into the bus.

"That's a lot of money," he comments, tossing another bag in.

Bozo hands him the last bag to put into the bus, and then looks around the bank to see if anymore are still around.

"What happened to the rest of the guys?" the bus driver asks, confused.

Without responding, Bozo simply raises his arm behind him and shoots a few well-placed shots, not even batting an eye. He walks over and collects the last few bags, tossing them into the bus. As he climbs up in preparation to leave, a voice ringing out gets his attention.

"You think you're smart huh? The guy that hired you… he'll just do the same to you," the Bank Manager states with a mocking laugh, despite his pain. Bozo lowers his head before making his way over, pulling something out from his belt. "Oh, criminals in this town used to believe in things. Honor, respect! Look at you. What do you believe in huh? WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IN-?!"

The Bank Manager is interrupted as Bozo crouches in front of him and sticks a grenade into his mouth, muffling his voice.

"I believe, whatever doesn't kill you simply makes you…" Bozo says, pulling off his mask. "…stranger."

The Bank Manager widens his eyes in fear as the face that stares at him from behind the mask is none other the Joker himself. Joker glances around curiously for a moment, and then gives him a wild smirk, disappearing in an instant. He watches him go with wide eyes, noticing a string around the pin on his grenade that is attached to the Joker.

Joker pulls a card from his pocket and then slaps it down onto a nearby table, humming to himself. He looks at his blaster for a moment and then collects Grumpy's weapon, tossing them both into the school bus. He climbs up right after, closing the door behind him and locking it.

As the school bus starts off, pulling the string with it, the Bank Manager tenses up fearfully in preparation for the worst. However when the pin on the grenade is pulled, what comes out instead isn't an explosion, but is rather just a plume of smoke.

* * *

**_Air Temple Island; Republic City_**

**Caron POV…**

A cool breeze blows through the morning air, and the sun lightens up the open courtyard. I would be able to enjoy it more if I wasn't burdened with everyone's favorite task: studying. Sitting against one of the short walls by the forest, I'm reading from a book Tenzin recently gave me. In it is the list of things that Jarik left behind for me to study up on, something I'm not too thrilled to be doing at the moment.

"At least it's not the White Lotus," I grumble to myself. "Ok, ok. Stretching out with the Force…"

Standing up, I glance at the book again and then get into a calm stance, arms at my sides. I take a breath and start to focus, closing my eyes as I let the Force fill me.

Sudden movement from somewhere distracts me, and I open my eyes to look around where I could sense it, frowning in confusion. The leaves of a large bush are swaying, but quickly settle back down. Shrugging to myself, I go to continue my training when I sense even more movement. Whipping around, I narrow my eyes suspiciously and stretch out with the Force, only to pull back in exasperation upon sensing a familiar presence nearby.

"Hah hah, nice try Korra," I scoff, rolling my eyes. "You can't sneak up on me, remember."

I then lunge towards the wall and look over with a smirk, intending on scaring her in kind. However the only sight that greets me is Naga, sniffing through the dirt with her body low to the ground. She looks up at the sight of me and wags her tail. I raise an eyebrow in response, humming to myself.

"Huh. Hey Naga," I say, petting her snout. "Guess I mistook you for Korra."

Naga purrs happily and licks my hand before resuming her search through the dirt. I roll my eyes at her in amusement, and then turn around to continue my studying. What greets me instead is the sight of Korra hovering inches away from my face, readying to pounce with a wide grin on her face.

"Hey squirt!" she shouts.

"Wha-!"

I'm unable to say anything other than a surprised shout before Korra tackles me over the wall like a deranged lunatic. We hit the dirt and go tumbling over over each other, eventually sitting upright underneath the trees. Korra is on me instantly, hugging me tight to her chest to pin my arms, and then wrapping her legs around me so I couldn't escape. She then starts giving me a fierce noogie, much to my bewilderment and annoyance.

"Gah! Monkey-feathers!" I shout, desperately trying to shove her arm away. "What the heck Korra?!"

"Still think I can't sneak up on you?" she teases gleefully, rubbing her knuckles over my head.

I finally manage to get one arm free and try shoving her arm away so that she would stop messing with my head.

"Ok ok I get it, you win!" I exclaim irritably.

"Ha! In, your, face!" she declares, resting her chin on top of my head and crushing me with her arms. I wince at her tight grip, doing my best to shove her off.

"Ow! Hey! Come on, stop! I was in the middle of something!" I protest, squirming defiantly.

"Seriously? I could hear you grumbling to yourself across the courtyard," she retorts.

"Alright, sure," I admit reluctantly. "But shouldn't you be training with Tenzin?"

"I'm already done. Now I've got free time!" she replies.

"Wouldn't you want to spend that time with your boyfriend?" I ask her.

"Nah, he's busy today. Besides, this just give me all the time in the world to spend with my dear baby brother!" she cooes.

Korra squeezes me tighter against her, a smirk on her face while I just sulk, slumping in her grip with a glum expression.

"Great…" I mutter.

A sudden bark off to the side gets our attention, and we both look over to see Naga staring at us, tongue out happily and wagging her tail. Our faces morph into looks of horror as she makes her way over to them at a trot.

"Way to go sis," I deadpan.

"Ok… this one's on me," Korra amends meekly.

* * *

The door opens to reveal both Korra and I just outside, standing stiff with our shoulders slumping, glum expressions on our faces. Luon starts to make his way outside before stopping, his eyes widening at the sight of us.

"Oh... hey guys. You look..." he says slowly.

"Like we were mauled by a polar bear dog?" Korra offers dryly.

"...yeah, I guess," he finishes.

It's true: our hair is all messed up and scraggly, some areas matted with Naga's wet drool. Korra's hair bands were taken off in the scuffle, leaving her hair completely down without her trademark wolftail style. Our clothes look like we've been rolling around in the dirt, and our faces are glistening with more drool. After Naga caught us completely unawares, we were caught in one of her playful sessions, and she just wouldn't let either of us get far.

"You can thank my _sister _for that," I state, punching her arm.

"How was I supposed to know she would do that?" she protests, not even fazed by the punch.

"You used her to distract me!" I retort, groaning.

"I'm sorry, what happened?" Luon asks in bewilderment.

"Nothing!" we both say at the same time.

"I'm going to take a shower," Korra states, marching forwards.

"No, I get dibs!" I reply, rushing ahead.

"What?!"

"You're the one who tackled me and got us into that mess!"

"Hey, I've had a very busy week ok? Tenzin is training me nonstop!"

"Well isn't that something new?!"

Luon watches us blow right past him, staring at us like we were crazy. I suppose we probably were... well at least Korra is. Tackling me like that in the middle of my studying?!

...

Ok not that I enjoy studying, but still!

"Uh, I'm gonna head to the Pro-bending area now... Butakha needs a few hands," he tells us.

"Alright, see you later! Remember we got more crime busting with Team Avatar tonight!" Korra calls out.

"Got it!" he replies, walking away.

"I'm showering first!" I declare, sprinting forwards.

"Wha- hey!" she protests, running after me.

* * *

**_Republic City Hall; Reylea_**

**3rd person POV...**

"Senator Raiko, in regards to the recent Anti-Bending Revolution what are you plans to help the city recover?"

"I'm glad you asked that Mr. Hyak," Raiko replies with a nod. "The Anti-Bending Revolution is a prime example of how things can go wrong in what would otherwise be considered a utopia for democracy and freedom for all without prejudice. In order to repair the damage that was done, we must first look to strengthen the relationships between our people, whether they be benders or nonbenders."

"And as for the economic concerns? Lots of companies tied to the Equalists have been put out of business, and many have lost jobs," Mr. Hyak says.

"The city's economy is running poorly right now for sure. But with the right plans we can certainly change that, especially amongst the poor and middle classes," Raiko states. "It's important to help create new jobs, so that money can once again flow through Republic City's streets-"

"Pardon me Senator Raiko, if I may?" Senator Shuno interrupts from across the debate stage. "I don't necessarily feel that a loss of jobs is the only reason the lower classes are suffering."

"How so?" Raiko questions.

"Something that is important to point out is the issue of crime," Shuno declares firmly. "Even before the whole Revolution, the government was in shambles. Bending Triads were able to gain whole swaths of territory right under the law, and politicians turned a blind eye to all of that. They extort the poor and average citizen on these streets, and they're allowed too because we haven't been tough enough on it. These criminals also play a big role in anti-bending sentiment. If we're going to fix these problems, then we first need to focus on flushing the United Republic of these criminals!"

A round of applause stems from the audience after Senator Shuno's remarks, and the moderators continue with their questions.

"Senator Shuno, you say that the root of the problem comes from the Bending Triads," Mr. Hyak comments, and he nods his head. "What is your view of Team Avatar bringing the fight to these criminals, and the arrival of this alien known as Jarik Shan?"

"I have no problems with them. They're working hard to take out these criminals, and do so alongside Chief Beifong and her police force," Shuno replies.

"Are you at all concerned about the possible dangers Jarik Shan could represent?" Mr. Hyak asks.

"Of course. There are things to be worried about, especially since we have no knowledge of what's beyond our atmosphere," Shuno says in agreement. "However we have our own issues with Force users that are proven to be a real threat to our people. They have powers we've never seen before, so we need support more than ever. Jarik Shan has offered to teach Caran what he needs to know, something we desperately need as we go further into the unknown."

"Senator Raiko, your thoughts?"

"Thank you Mr. Hyak. Senator Shuno, you bring up an excellent point there in regards to Jarik Shan and these Force users," Raiko comments. "With the rise of the Messenger and these so-called 'Knights of Ren,' it's important to have allies who we can depend upon to help us combat them. I admit I hold my own reservations about the truth of alien life beyond our atmosphere, and about Jarik Shan. But if we turn away people just because they're not like us, even like these drastic circumstances, then how can we call ourselves a fair and equal society, in the United Republic of Nations?"

The audience claps in response to Senator Raiko's words, and the debate continues on.

Tenzin watches from the side of the room as both candidates state their own viewpoints and ways of running the government, trying to get a sense of them. It seems as if the debate could run on with no end in sight, as both candidates seem equally loved by their supporters. It's hard to tell right now who will eventually be elected President.

* * *

**_Republic National Bank; Republic City_**

Lin walks through the hallways toward the vault with Saikhan at her side, observing the crime scene. Several officers and investigators are working on analyzing the scene and finding any clues or evidence towards what exactly happened.

"Reports confirmed that six people took part in robbing the bank, but only one walked out alive," Saikhan tells her.

"The Bank Manager? He is a registered lightning bender," Lin suggests the reason.

"No. Only one of them was hit by lightning. Autopsy shows that one was impaled by a piece of metal, another from serious head injury. The rest were killed by gunfire," he reports. "Another card was left here."

Lin comes to a stop and turns around with a look of surprise at the information on the criminals, and takes the card from Saikhan. She observes it for a moment and then shakes her head, looking up at him with a scoff.

"Well we know the Joker can resist showing himself," she remarks, frowning. "The question is, why would he kill his own men?"

"I'm not sure," Saikhan replies.

"Can the Bank Manager tell us what really happened?" she questions.

"No. He's dead now too."

"What? He was taken to the hospital!" Lin states firmly.

"The doctors came back in for another check-up, only to find him dead," Saikhan informs her grimly. "Stab wound, right in the neck."

Lin remains silent for a moment and processes the information.

"This is a Triad Bank," she realizes, chuckling without any humor. "This bank is run by the Bending Triads."

"Are you sure?"

"It makes sense. The Joker's main targets have been the Bending Triads. This bank stored some of the Triad's money, and the Manager failed to protect it. Failure in a gang typically leads to that result," she explains, referring to the Manager's death.

"Should we close down the bank?" he asks her.

"Get a proper investigation going, find proof, and then do exactly that," she confirms with a nod. "If a bank as large as this one is under the control of the Triads, I want to know just how many more are theirs."

"I'll get a team on it right away," Saikhan says.

He walks away and leaves the vault while Lin remains, looking around the scene more. On his way out, Saikhan passes by Tenzin, who had just entered the vault. They give each other a nod before he approaches Lin, who merely shows him the Joker card.

"Him again?" Tenzin asks. "Who are the others.

"Just a few small timer thugs," she replies. "I may need to get Caran on the case though."

"What makes you say that?" he asks her.

"This is a Triad Bank," she reveals. "I need to find out just how many more banks our under their control. If we can take away their money, then their operations will fall apart."

"That is a big opportunity, and also troubling," Tenzin remarks thoughtfully. "The Triads couldn't have gotten hold of a bank as large as this recently. This just shows their corruption is much deeper than we ever thought. What about the Joker?"

"One man or all of the Triads? I'm afraid he'll have to wait. They've been mixing their dirty yuans right under my nose," Lin states with a scowl, crossing her arms. "How was the presidential debate?"

"It's hard to tell at this stage, but I can see why they so easily swept any other candidate out of the race," he informs her. "They both make excellent talking points."

"Who's your preference?" she asks.

"I'm not sure yet," he admits. "I'd imagine you'd support Senator Shuno without question.

"Oh?" she comments, raising an eyebrow.

"He's very big on wanting to solve the issue of corruption in the city, and putting these Triad gangs behind bars."

"That is someone I would support," she admits with a nod. "Do you trust them?"

"I'd like to. I'm just hoping both of them aren't using their talking points to get their way," Tenzin sighs. "I don't want to deal with another Tarrlok situation."

"That would be good," Lin nods in agreement. "Speaking of which, where are the others? I would've expected Mako to be present here."

"Out being 'Team Avatar' again," Tenzin jokes, but she stares at him, unamused, and he sighs. "Caron found out about another meet-up between a few criminals, and they decided to go after them."

"They better be glad I allow this," she grumbles.

* * *

**_East Parking Garage; Republic City_**

A small pack of cars and satomobiles make their way into a deserted area of the parking garage several stories up. Once they come to a stop in their meeting place, where a black van is parked, several members of the Triple Threat Triad get out of their vehicles. The one currently in charge of this group of Triple Threats is Tokuga; he's younger than most in the gang, but he's made himself a very fierce reputation among the other Triads to earn his position.

"There's a reason we bring dogs gentlemen," he remarks, opening the back of one of their cars to pet a mutt's ears. "They can detect anything."

He stops petting the dog and allows some of the men to grab the leashes for the dogs, taking them out of the cars. Tokuga then approaches the black van with a few of his goons and comes to a stop, crossing his arms.

"You've been lacking in your shipments Oren," he says with a frown.

"You think you can blame me for this?" Oren replies, climbing out of the back of the van, and two firebenders flank him. "I've been doing this for a lot longer than you have. And I know when the going gets bad."

"You thinking of backing out?" Tokuga asks with narrowed eyes.

"Not at all," he says in response. "Like I said, I've done this longer. You want business to continue? It needs to slow down for now."

"The Triple Threats have no interest in slow deliveries Oren," he states dangerously. "We need your shipments now!"

"If you don't like the Agni Kai's delivery schedules you can go to someone else," Oren retorts. "Assuming, Team Avatar, left anyone else to deliver your stuff."

The pack of dogs then start barking and growling wildly, smelling other people approaching that aren't supposed to be there. Tokuga and Oren freeze up and then start looking around with seeking eyes. Tokuga slowly pulls out his sword while the others around him prepare for a fight, some pulling out pouches of water, others ready to fire bend.

"My dogs are hungry kids!" Tokuga calls out, taunting their age.

His gaze then settles on a lone figure standing just out of the light, silently watching them. He smiles to himself, making a guess on who that figure is.

"Pity you don't have friends to back you up, alien!" he mocks.

One of his goons suddenly lets out a shout of surprise before going silent. Tokuga's smile falls, and he looks over, only to see the goon had vanished. Another shout has him looking to the other side, where he just vaguely sees a man throwing another goon over the side of the concrete wall. More figures seem to pop out of the shadows, some of them appearing to have glowing green eyes. The figure that Tokuga first saw then holds something up; a clicking noise follows, and he throws something to land near the group of criminals.

The object he threw then explodes, sending a few Triple Threats tumbling across the ground. Tokuga ducks down at the explosion and quickly backs off, while Oren stumbles back and makes a mad dash for his van.

"That's not the Avatar!" he says to himself.

Tokuga looks around angrily, and spots several men in black uniforms jumping out of the shadows. He instantly recognizes them as Equalist chi-blockers, and widens his eyes incredulously. The man he first saw then brings two sticks into his hand, and electricity burst across them to reveal him as the Lieutenant: Amon's former second-hand man.

The Lieutenant rushes forwards, and his pack of chi-blockers quickly follow to take on the criminals. Several chunks of rock and fire are thrown by the thugs, along with some water whips, but the chi-blockers duck out of the way and continue onwards. They quickly reach the criminals and start getting into melee battles, punching and jabbing at them. Triple Threats throw a barrage of elements while Equalizes throw out grenades, smoke bombs, and use their own bodies to take them on. The Lieutenant swings his kafi sticks and jabs several earth benders, causing them to let out screams of pain as they fall to the ground.

"Loose the dogs!" Tokuga cries out.

The dog handlers instantly let go of their leashes, and the dogs all make a wild dash for a few chi-blockers. Caught off guard, two of them are quickly taken down with shouts of pain as the dogs bite their arms and legs using their sharp teeth, growling and snarling. One chi-blocker tries to sneak up on Oren, but he quickly whips around with a fiery punch and hits him back, knocking the mask off and burning part of the chi-blocker's face.

All of sudden, the fighting is interrupted when a bigger satomobile comes charging into the parking garage from over the side. Several figures quickly jump out, revealing themselves to be Avatar Korra, Asami, and Mako.

"You've got to be kidding me," the Lieutenant scowls to himself.

The Triple Threats instantly shoot bursts of fire and rock over at them, but Korra stomps the ground to bring up a wall of earth. The criminals continue their barrage for a few more seconds before stopping, the rock wall not being damaged in the slightest. The chi-blockers also halt in their attacks as the Triple Threats cautiously approach the rock wall.

A shockwave of cracking rocks then travels through the floor to hit one of the cars, crumpling it against the roof in an earth pillar. The wall is instantly lowered, revealing Mako with his hands full of lightning. He thrusts his arm out, and a streak of lightning impacts against another car, causing it to explode. The criminals scatter, while the Equalist chi-blockers are at a loss of what to do, run and escape or take out the oppressive benders. One of them narrows his eyes at Team Avatar and starts to move forwards, bringing out a shock glove in preparation to put it on.

"Hey man!"

The chi-blocker looks over in alarm to see Caran suddenly standing right beside him. Before he could do anything, Caran clenches his fist to crush the shock glove effortlessly, and then blows him away with a Force push. A hole underneath the floor then opens up, allowing Bolin and Luon to jump through. Bolin instantly goes on the attack and throws chunks of rock at the Triple Threats, while Luon makes his way over to the chi-blockers.

"How you like that?!" Bolin exclaims, hitting an earthbender.

Tokuga observes the scene with a scowl and then jumps into a van with two of his bodyguards. They start to drive away while everyone is occupied with each other. Oren has the same idea, but is slow in getting into his van.

Luon quickly takes on two chi-blockers, ducking underneath their kicks and then shoving one's head against a support pillar. The other jabs his arms, but Luon deflects their punches away and then does a roundhouse kick to send him against the wall. The chi-blocker looks up to see Luon's fist hurtling towards his face, knocking him out cold.

He then looks over to see another chi-blocker screaming in fear and pain as two dogs snarl and bite at him. Sighing in aggravation, he pulls out a grappling tool, courtesy of Asami's tech, and then shoots it at the chi-blocker. One of the dogs sprints away as he's pulled over, but the other dog still goes with him. As Luon moves to shove away the angry dog from its victim, it suddenly turns on him and bites his arm. He lets out a shout of pain as the dogs bites him, but manages to swing around and hit the dog against a pillar. The dog whimpers and limps away while Luon holds his bleeding arm, silently cursing out his idea to shove an angry dog.

"Not doing that again," he hisses between clenched teeth.

Two more dogs then comes charging at him with angry growls, and he backs up in alarm. Thankfully, Naga jumps into the fray and stands protectively in front of Luon, roaring at the two dogs. They come skidding to a stop, whimpering, before turning around with their tails between their legs and running away. Naga roars at them as they leave, and then turns to look at Luon with worried eyes.

"Thanks girl, I owe you one," he says with a smile.

On the other side of the garage, Korra ducks underneath a burst of fire from one goon and then kicks her foot up, creating an earth pillar that knocks him harshly against the ceiling. Another goon then tries to tackle her, but she easily overpowers him and smacks him away with some water, freezing him to the wall. Mako shoots a series of fire punches at two water benders, blocking their water whips and then performing a roundhouse kick. A wall of fire is sent out to knock the two water benders against a van.

The Lieutenant makes a gesture for all of his remaining chi-blockers to make their escape, and they all rush away as quickly as possible. Before he could move away, Asami jumps in front of him, her glove sparking dangerously.

"You?" she asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Get out of my way girl," he snaps.

"I don't think so," she replies defiantly.

Growling to himself, the Lieutenant whips out his kafi sticks and starts swinging them at her. Asami ducks out of the way and rolls across the ground, hitting one of the stick away with her forearm. Lieutenant tries kicking her, but she sidesteps and then thrusts out her glove. The Lieutenant brings up one of his kafi sticks to stop her, and she grabs it with her glove. The sudden mixture of electricity shocks both of them, and they're blasted away from each other, surprised.

Asami shakes her head to get rid of her dizziness, and then looks up to see the Lieutenant jumping into the air and swinging his kafi sticks down with a shout. She quickly rolls out of the way, the Lieutenants stick smacking harmlessly against the ground. He then looks up to see Asami flipping overtop of him with her own shout. Her legs wind around his neck as she flips, and he's suddenly yanked to the side, only to then get slammed against the ground while she lands on her feet, pushing her hair back into place.

"That was for a lot of things," she comments triumphantly.

Nearby, Caran was busy using the Force to toss aside several rocks thrown his way, occasionally redirect them back. A stream of fire is sent his way, and he raises his hands to create a Force shield, something Jarik taught him to do, and allows the flames to part on either side of him. It made him feel like he was a firebender. Laughing to himself, Caran then reaches out to grab the firebender with the Force and then throws him against an earthbender, knocking them both out.

"Who's next?" he asks with a grin.

"Dude watch out!" Bolin exclaims in a panic.

Caran sensed the danger at the same time Bolin warned him, and whips around to face it. A black van comes charging for him and then turns around, intending to hit him with its side. Caran widens his eyes jumps out of the way just in time, grabbing onto the top of the van and letting out a surprised shout.

"Aw, geez!" he exclaims.

Inside, Oren hears the sound of Caran grabbing onto the van and narrows his eyes, slamming his foot on the gas. The van lurches forwards and speeds toward the exit while Caran fumbles for his lightsaber, bringing it into his hand. Activating the green blade, he stabs it into the side of the van and starts cutting his way through, grunting in exertion. Oren glances back to see the green blade piercing through the van, and then looks forwards again. Spotting a pillar up ahead, he angles his way there and then drives alongside it.

Caran has only a moment to widen his eyes in alarm before the pillar is right on top of him. Yanking his lightsaber out of the van, he quickly jumps off of it to try and avoid the pillar, but he still hits it and tumbles to the ground painfully. Oren looks back to see him knocked off and smirk triumphantly, gunning his way towards the exit.

Having taken care of most of the criminals, Korra saw what happened and instantly rushes over to Caran, crouching beside him worriedly. She helps him to his feet while he lets out a few pained groans, shaking his head.

"Caran, are you alright?" she asks in concern.

"Yeah I'm fine, just bruised," he replies, wincing a little. "Alright, I've got this fool."

He then starts to make his way over towards the ledge much to Korra's bewilderment, and she reaches out to grab his wrist in confusion.

"What are you doing?" she demands.

"Trust me Korra, I got it," he says confidently.

Still cautious, Korra nonetheless lets go of him, and he climbs up to stand right on the edge of the garage, looking down at the bottom level far below.

He senses the van and its driver as it moves, gaging the timeframe in his mind, and then makes his move. Smirking, he jumps off of the ledge and falls down several stories. Right as the van drives underneath him, he hits the top of it. Using the Force, Caran managed to cushion his fall and land properly, while also creating a massive dent in the roof that completely stops the van in its tracks, breaking the windows as well. Oren lets out a startled cry as the emergency bags blow out of the steering wheel and hit him in the face.

From up above, Korra lets out a sigh and rolls her eyes as she witnesses the whole thing, yet is still unable to keep the amused smile off her face.

* * *

The Lieutenant's mask is ripped off his face, and he glares up at his captors with a scowl. He and the chi-blockers that were caught are all lined up against the wall along with the thugs from the Triple Threat Triad and Agni Kai's.

"Well, look who it is buster! Still got the mustache? Man!" Bolin exclaims.

"Yeah, I think its gotten longer," Caran murmurs to him.

"What are you doing messing with me?" Lieutenant demands.

"Uh, arresting criminals that you also happen to be in the same vicinity as," Luon comments, raising an eyebrow.

"We're not affiliated with this bending scum," he scowls furiously.

From his tied up position right next to him, Oren frowns at the Lieutenant and makes a few mocking faces.

"Clearly," Luon drawls sarcastically.

"What are you doing out here anyways? I thought the whole Equalist thing died," Korra remarks, crossing her arms.

"No thanks to you," Lieutenant scoffs bitterly. "After Amon and the Messenger betrayed us, we didn't have any way of getting rid of your stupid bending. I rallied anyone still left and loyal to the cause to keep hitting these good-for-nothing triads. At the very least we could take out these oppressive scum."

"Huh. That's actually kind of noble... aren't you supposed to be a bad guy?" Bolin asks, frowning intensely with a hand on his chin.

"Why are you bothering us? We're taking out these thugs, same as you," Lieutenant says irritably.

"Don't forget that you're a criminal too," Mako reminds him. "You've committed several felonies, kidnapping for example, and willingly took part in oppressing benders yourselves, along with several other crimes. Chief Beifong would be more than happy to put you behind bars."

"Oh, and you're kind of being a vigilante," Caran adds.

"And you freaks aren't?" he retorts. "What gives you the right to go out like this? What's the difference between us?!"

"We have special permission from the police force, and the United Republic government," Korra states smugly. "We're under Chief Beifong's watch, and she has final say on whatever we do."

"Yeah, we have Chief Beifong's permission!" Bolin says with a grin. "In your face, mustache man!"

"Enjoy your jail time," Asami says.

The six of them then move away, leaving the mix of chi-blockers and gang members tied up on the side of the wall. Asami, Mako and Bolin climb into the Satomobile while Korra, Caran and Luon mount Naga.

"Oh spirits, what the heck happened to your arm?!" Korra asks with wide eyes, finally noticing the injury.

"Dog bit me," he mutters, grimacing.

"Alright, we're getting you back to the island," she states firmly. "Come on Naga!"

They rush out on the polar bear dog while Asami turns on the satomobile, driving down the parking garage and over to the exit. She would be taking the brothers home before heading back to her place, while the others went back to Air Temple Island where they would be staying. Once all of Team Avatar is gone, the chi-blockers and criminals are left in silence with each other, all of them scowling and angry, yet unable to do anything.

"Scum," Lieutenant scoffs.

"Freaks," Oren retorts.

* * *

_Yeah, Lieutenant is still around. I think it's perfectly reasonable to assume he'd be doing something like this after Season 1, if he survived anyways. It was never really confirmed whether or not Amon's bloodbending killed him, so I think this is a good send off. :D_

_Thanks for all of your support to this story, and to the Shaniverse! Really love it!_


	7. Chapter 7 - Seeking the Triads

**_Air Temple Island - Reylea_**

**Korra POV...**

"Easy... easy Kor- OW!"

"Will you just relax and hold still?!"

"Kind of hard to, I got bitten!"

I sigh in aggravation as Luon jerks his arm away from me. Putting the water down I stand up straight to fix him with a glare, crossing my arms over my chest.

"This will be a lot easier for me to heal if you just hold still," I state firmly.

"Do you have to grab my arm though? I'm pretty sure you only need the water to touch me," he replies with a wince.

"Does the phrase, 'hold still' mean anything to you?" I retort, raising an eyebrow at him.

He grimaces at my comment and then sighs, holding out his arm again and taking a deep breath. Bringing the water out of my pouch, I allow it to envelop my hand and then grip his arm gently with my other hand to hold it steady. He winces slightly but forces himself to stay still, and I bring the glowing blue water closer to his arm, covering the wound.

It was nasty looking, a deep gash with swollen skin around the edges thanks to the dog bite. Taking a breath, I let the water's healing capability flow through the wound, steadily closing it up and healing the injured skin. Once I'm done, all that's left in a big white scar in place of where the dog bit him.

"Thanks Korra," he says gratefully with a sigh of relief.

"Was that so hard?" I ask him, putting the water away.

"No..." he grumbles in response.

"Ooohhh, are the two lovers having a spat with each other?" Caran teases from the doorway.

"Hey!" I reply, whipping around and bending the water at him.

He ducks away from the water with a startled yelp, and it splashes harmlessly against the wall in the hallway. He eyes it for a moment and then looks back through the doorway to give us a triumphant smirk.

"Missed me," he taunts.

"Why don't you go get a date with Jinora or something?" I retort.

Caran makes a face at me before turning away and walking down the hallway. I groan in annoyance while Luon rolls his eyes with an amused smile on his face.

"So where'd he get that from? You, or your parents?" he asks.

"He got it from me," I admit glumly. "Mom and Dad aren't exactly the 'annoying' type."

"My mom would've had his hide if he talked to her like that," he says with a small laugh, before sighing sadly. "Before you ask, I'm fine. It's just sad."

I pull back from my question at Luon's comment, twiddling my fingers awkwardly for a moment.

"Are you sure you're ok?" I ask him.

"I'm fine, really," he replies.

"No, I meant your arm."

"Oh."

He looks at his arm for a moment and rolls it a little, nodding to himself.

"Yeah, it's fine," he determines. "Kind of dumb of me to mess with those dogs though, right?"

"Dumb? That was flat out stupid!" I scold him. "You're lucky Naga was there to scare them off!"

"Come on, the guy was being mauled," he comments.

"I know, but you should've at least had one of us help you," I insist.

"Eh, whatever. It happened, I learned my lesson, I'm good," he shrugs.

I roll my eyes at his casual dismissal of the whole thing. "I can't believe you're being so dismissal of that."

"Hey, I'm not the one who leapt onto a moving truck before jumping off the balcony," he retorts.

My expression goes flat as I glare at nothing, remembering how Caran decided to go full out 'crazy-mode' with that stunt he pulled. Scoffing, I place a hand on my hip and look out the door where he walked off, blowing a raspberry.

"Oh he's gonna get it from me," I say firmly.

* * *

_**Republic City Hall - Reylea**_

In the court room at City Hall, Mera waits impatiently at her seat while the rest of the people gathered settle in. She constantly glances back in the hopes of seeing Senator Shuno walking inside at any moment, but for whatever reason he still hasn't showed up yet. The court meeting is about to start!

As a native of the Northern Water Tribe, Mera immigrated to live in Republic City to progress in her school studies, training to become involved in law and order. She's been pretty successful throughout her life so far, and has managed to get up to the point of being a co-worker of Senator Ivan Shuno when it came to putting triad members behind bars.

She's also become his fiance.

Glancing around impatiently again for him, she shakes her head and looks forwards at the papers on her desk, reviewing them one last time. She could see former Councilman Tenzin was already here, and Chief of Police Lin Beifong was present as well, standing off to the side of the room with a few of her officers. In the defendant's box beside hers sat two men, one of whom was named Zhen. He's a member of the Triple Threat Triad, and has been involved with the group for several decades now, becoming a high ranking member.

Allegedly, at least. This court case will hopefully be able to prove it.

"Sorry I'm late folks!" someone calls out.

Mera glances behind her again and sighs in exasperation when she sees Senator Shuno strutting down the room up to their box with a confident stride in his steps, a grin on his face. He sits down beside her, and she gives him an irritated look.

"Where were you?" she demands.

"Sorry Mera, been a little busy. Running for president takes a lot of time," he explains.

"We scheduled this meeting weeks ago Ivan, surely you should've remembered to be on time," she chides.

"Relax, I remembered! I'm here, right?" he replies with a grin. "Worried you'd have to step up?"

"Oh I know the briefs like the back of my hand. I'm sure I would be just fine," she states firmly.

"I'm sure you would," he replies without a doubt.

"All rise for the honorable judge," Chief Beifong announces.

Everyone gets u from their seats as the judge and jury enter the courtroom and make their way over to their seats. As they do so, Zhen turns to give Shuno a dismissive look.

"I thought you were busy running for President, Senator?" he asks, a hint of a taunt in his words.

"I still make time for this. I've got plenty of time to put you away Zhen, don't you worry," Shuno replies with a confident smile.

After the quick exchange between the defendant and prosecutor, the court carries on for several minutes as both sides go back and forth, arguing their case against the other. During his part, Shuno stands up and paces around for while making his case.

"With Lightning Bolt Zolt in jail after his bending was taken by Amon, someone must've stepped up to take control of the Triple Threats," he states.

The witness, a man called Rossi, nods his head.

"Is this man in the courtroom today?" Shuno asks.

Rossi nods his head with a small grin.

"Could you identify him for us, please?" Shuno asks.

He moves to stand in front of Zhen's desk, smiling triumphantly at him. Zhen however just stares right back with an unamused and unconcerned expression on his face, stroking his gray goatee.

"You win Senator," Rossi says. "It was me."

Shuno's smile drops off of his face as he whips around to stare at Rossi in bewilderment, and the crowd gasps. Mera blink incredulously and then leans forwards to check her papers, frowning.

"I have a sworn statement from you..." Shuno says, accepting a piece of paper that Mera hands him. "...that this man, Hanir Zhen, is the new head of the Triple Threat Triad!"

"Zhen? He's a fall guy. I'm the brains of the organization!" Rossi declares smugly.

Everybody laughs at the witness while Shuno paces around furiously, rubbing his forehead in irritation.

"Permission to treat the witness as hostile?" he asks the judge.

"Granted," the judge replies.

"Hostile? I'll show you hostile!" Rossi shouts.

Getting up from his chair, Rossi slips a piece of metal out from under his sleeve and then uses metalbending to aim the sharp point at Shuno, causing everyone to gasp in alarm. Shuno stares back in surprise for a moment and then lunges forwards, smacking Rossi's arm to interrupt his aim and then punches him squarely in the face.

Rossi stumbles back, and within a moment Lin and another officer are on him, wrapping their metal cables around his wrists and wrestling him out of the seat to secure him. Shuno walks away as it happens, moving forwards to glare at Zhen.

"You boys must've lost your touch using that. If you want to kill a public servant Mr. Zhen, I recommend you use a lightning bender," he snaps.

Zhen just stares back at Shuno, his face expressionless, while Mera sighs in relief at the attempted murder being stopped.

"Get him out of here," Lin orders her officers.

"But your honor I'm not done," Shuno replies, looking up at the judge.

Mera shakes her head with an exasperated laugh while other people in the room clap their hands in approval of the Senator.

* * *

After the courtroom failed to expose Zhen as a high ranking member of the Triple threat Triad, Shuno and Mera left to go back to their offices.

"There's nothing to link to Zhen, so we can't charge him with anything. But the fact that they're trying to kill you means we're getting to them," Mera says with a smile.

"Glad you're so pleased Mera," Shuno replies casually. "I'm fine by the way."

"Ivan, you're a Presidential candidate, and the number one politician in regards to busting crime. If you're not getting shot at, you're not doing your job," she says with a grin, turning towards him with a suggestion. "'Course if you said you were rattled we could take the rest of the day off."

"As much as I'd like to, I can't. I've got a meeting with Tenzin and Chief Beifong," he tells her.

"Alright, well I hope it goes well for you Ivan. They seem like nice people," she comments.

"Chief Beifong is a bit stern, but she's got the right idea about things, I'll give her that," he remarks.

Stopping in front of his office, Mera gives him a quick peck on the cheek before walking away to her own place while Shuno watches her go, a small smile on his face. Turning around, he enters his office to find Chief Beifong and Tenzin already there in the waiting room. They look up from their conversation and get to their feet, following him into his officer where Shuno sits down at his desk, and they sit in chairs across from him.

"That was quite the show you put on today Senator," Tenzin remarks.

"Well, I do my best to make my position clear," he replies.

"You're lucky that guy wasn't very good at his job," Lin comments gruffly. "It's a real shame though that Zhen is going to walk free."

"Well, at least the triads are consistent with giving second chances," Shuno jokes lightly in response. "I'd imagine they're the reason you guys are here today talking to me."

"We have reason to believe that the Republic National Bank was run by the triads," Tenzin states.

"The bank that the Joker hit?" Shuno asks with a frown. "Why would that be corrupted if the Joker is going after it?"

"The Joker's main targets have been against the bending triads, not regular citizens," Lin informs him. "I've got my team working on the case, and so far we've found out that the bank's vault was wired to discharge several thousand volts, while the alarm system was directed towards a private number. Not the police."

Shuno frowns at the information and places his hands underneath his chin, leaning forwards on his desk.

"I don't like hearing that. I've been working hard to put every criminal and money launderer behind bars as I can find, but I never considered looking at the banks," he says, seemingly frustrated and disturbed. "Are there any other banks?"

"I'm planning to have Caran scope them out, see if he can detect any foul play," Lin tells him.

"Caran?" Shuno asks. "Why would you go to him for this?"

"With the Force, he's capable of sensing people and certain things without ever seeing them, including the intent and emotions of a person. He's still learning admittedly, but he's skilled enough to scout out the banks in this way," Tenzin explains.

"And you're placing your full trust into superstition? I don't doubt his intentions, but leaving something like this up to chance simply because he may feel something is wrong isn't the best way to handle things," he replies. "In law and order, you need _physical_ concrete evidence."

"I understand Senator, but I've come to trust Caran's judgement," Lin says firmly.

"You want me to back warrants for search and seizure on possible corrupted bank locations, without any details or complete certainty?" Shuno asks cautiously.

"We can give you the names of any banks Caran may find, and details about what he may have felt in them," Tenzin says.

Shuno considers silently for a moment before giving in with a slow nod.

"Alright, that's a start. I'll admit the whole 'Team Avatar' vigilante stuff has made my work easier," he says with a small smile, before becoming serious. "I'll get you your warrants Chief Beifong. But I want absolute certainty in which banks you investigate."

"Oh I certainly plan on it," Lin declares without a hint of doubt.

* * *

_**Future Industries HQ - Republic City**_

Asami and members from the Future Industries board of directors were gathered in a conference room, where for the past few minutes they've been discussing the possibility of a joint partnership with Lau Security Investments Holdings.

"Despite your company's reputation being tarnished by Hiroshi Sato's involvement with the Equalists, we feel that we could still increase dynamic growth through mecha tank technology," the C.E.O. Lau says.

"Yes, we're hoping for that as well. Mecha tank technology has shown to be a big breakthrough, and we're hoping to commission it on a much larger scale," Asami replies with a nod. "We would need more support to do so however."

"In Ba Sing Se, L.S.I. Holdings stands for dynamic new growth. With your mecha tank technology, and our dynamic increases, a joint venture with Future Industries would be a powerhouse," Lau states, showing his acceptance to helping invest the company.

Asami smiles at the words, moving forwards to shake hands with Lau in gratitude.

"Thank you Mr. Lau. I think I can safely say I speak for the rest of the board in expressing our excitement at the prospect," she says, nodding at her fellow board members.

* * *

After bidding Mr. Lau and his associates goodbye, Asami gathered up her materials and vacated the meeting room, the rest of the Future Industries board also leaving to get to their work spaces. Asami is the last person to leave, and on the way out she runs into Mako, taking her by surprise.

"Oh, Mako! What are you doing here?" she asks. "I thought you were on a police shift today."

"No, I'm free at the moment. Just decided to drop by and say hi," he replies.

He starts walking with her as they move through the building towards Asami's office.

"Well that's nice. Wouldn't Bolin typically be with you whenever you're off?" she asks curiously.

"He's busy with the Fire Ferrets right now. He's hoping to get them ready for the fall now that the arena is rebuilt," Mako explains.

"And how's that going?" Asami asks him.

Mako falters for a moment and glances up at the ceiling awkwardly, thinking about how things have really been going...

*

_"Alright, Ferrets. Let's go over this drill again!" Bolin exclaims cheerfully._

_The two new Fire Ferrets look at him blankly, both slumping heavily and looking awkward, but get into position in the gym. Bolin then brings up two earth disks and then kicks them at the pair: the goal being to successfully counter the attack._

_Unfortunately however, both benders are unprepared, and get hit with startled yelps. The firebender topples backwards in a heap and then hits a shelf, causing it to lean over and collapse onto another shelf, which continues down a long line to spill equipment everywhere. Pabu squeals and jumps out of the way when a shelf nearly collapses on top of him._

_Bolin watches in despair and slumps his shoulders with a groan._

_"Let's... try again," he sighs._

*

Mako looks back at Asami and gives her an awkward smile.

"It's... going fine! Bolin is very optimistic!" he offers.

Asami accepts it with a smile and nods her head, completely oblivious to the real truth of just how badly the Ferrets are doing right now.

"Well that's good. I wish I could still sponsor them, but unfortunately Future Industries just can't spare any money right now," she says in disappointment.

"Sorry to hear about that," Mako says sadly. "Things getting any better?"

"As a matter of fact, I think they've gotten a lot better recently," she admits with a hopeful smile. "I just made a successful deal with a company stationed in Ba Sing Se."

"Sounds nice," Mako comments. "You think it'll help?"

"I don't see how it can't. L.S.I.'s been getting an eight percent revenue of growth annually, so they're making profit," she replies.

"Woah woah, wait, eight percent?" he asks suddenly, surprised. "You sure?"

"Yeah... that's what they've been doing," Asami replies, confused. "Why?"

"Eight percent annual growth is a _lot_ of revenue for a single company to make, at least not the fully legal way," he tells her.

"Legal way- what do you mean?" she asks with a frown. "You're not suggesting it's illegal money! What would make you even think that?"

"Asami, I used to run numbers for the Triple Threats, I know how their money works," Mako insists firmly. "So you can bet something is up with numbers like that."

Asami frowns uneasily and comes to a complete stop in the hallway, thinking hard about it. Mako stops beside her with an uncertain look on his face.

"Mako, you're a good friend, and as much as I trust you, this is honestly really hard to believe," she admits grimly. "Besides, Future Industries can't survive on its own right now. We _need _this partnership."

"I know," he replies apologetically. "Look, at least let me talk to Chief Beifong about this. Maybe I'm wrong, but the fact is the triads still have some way of getting money out, and we're not entirely sure how."

"And if it does turn out you're right?" she asks him seriously. "What then?"

Mako glances to the side, unsure of how to answer. He understands fully how tough things are for Asami and Future Industries right now thanks to its tainted reputation, but at the same time L.S.I. Holdings could be the key to figuring out how the triads are able to survive so well.

* * *

_**Air Temple Island - Reylea**_

**Caran POV...**

_"Keep your lightsaber upright. Your mind must be calm and clear."_

I do as the voice of Jarik says, lifting my green lightsaber and holding it by my side, taking a breath to try and clear my mind. Honestly, the whole idea of Jarik being in this holocron to teach me basic things, and yet not have it actually be him is weird. How does that even work anyways?! It's him, his voice and figure in the blue light, but at the same time it isn't him.

"This is so weird," I mutter.

_"Your mind must be calm and clear."_

I roll my eyes but keep quiet, pulling myself back to focus on what I'm doing. Apparently this fake Jarik has his sense of firm instruction as well, go figure.

_"Shii-Cho is the most basic form, and is the first form taught to Jedi younglings. It was developed for the purpose of disarming, and uses basic attacks and parries in its fighting style."_

Yeah nice history lesson, can I do stuff now?

_"First, bring your saber out and swing it through a series of wide, sweeping motions, as I am showing you. Follow along with the movements."_

Watching the small blue image of the fake Jarik, I start moving my lightsaber around like it's showing, swing it in a wide horizontal arc and then bringing it overhead to slash down. I pull my lightsaber back up in what looks like a defensive motion, and then stand back in the ready position.

_"Now what you'll e doing next is-"_

"Hey Caran?" Korra calls out.

_"Your mind must be calm and cle-"_

"Yeah yeah," I mutter sarcastically.

With a swipe of my hand I close the holocron and let it plop onto the grass harmlessly as Korra comes around the corner, walking over to me. I deactivate my lightsaber and look up at her curiously as she approaches.

"Hey sis, what's up?" I ask her.

"I think you and I need to have a talk mister," she states firmly, propping her hands on her hips.

"What about?" I ask in confusion, before realizing. "Oh wait, don't tell me. Is this about me jumping off the parking lot?"

"You could've hurt yourself!" she states in disapproval.

"Come on, I knew what I was doing! I've been training with _the _Jarik Shan, remember?" I remind her.

"You mean that fake blue image of him?" she points out with a raised eyebrow. "Besides, he's technically not a legendary figure here so that doesn't mean squat."

"Ugh, fine, fair enough," I admit with a groan.

"Seriously though, don't pull such stupid stunts like that! I don't want you getting hurt!" she tells me.

"Korra, I'll be fine, seriously, you don't have to worry so much about that," I reply.

"Well I do worry, I'm your sister," she retorts. "Luon got mauled by a dog, and then you got hit by a van. That's pretty worrying for me. I don't want to have to explain to mom and dad that you hurt yourself jumping off of a balcony or some other stupid thing."

"We caught the bad guys right?" I ask her.

"Yeah, we did," she sighs, rubbing her forehead. "Just... don't do something stupid next time, alright?"

I shrug in response and she rolls her eyes, although she's unable to keep the small smile off of her face.

"So what kind of stuff were you looking at?" she asks.

"Just some basic lightsaber forms. Apparently some if it includes being able to deflect 'blaster bolts...'"

* * *

_**Republic City - Reylea**_

The next day, me and Korra rode into town on Naga, making our way towards the police station where Lin would be waiting for us. Earlier she asked me to help her in scoping out several banks to see wha I could sense, since the one that got robbed recently was actually under the control of the bending triads. So I agreed to help, and after spending some time in several banks I could sense signs of definite foul play in at least three of them.

"In any other situation this would technically make us bank robbers," I remark.

"Yeah, only now it's kind of the other way around," she shrugs in response.

Reaching the police station, we dismount from Naga and I pat her snout while Lin and Mako both walk up to us.

"Hey you two," Mako greets.

"Hey Mako," Korra replies. "So, are we about ready to do this thing?"

"I've already got legal issues settled with Senator Shuno, although we also have another issue on our hands," Lin grumbles, crossing her arms. "Apparently the C.E.O. of some company attempting to gain a joint partnership with Future Industries is in on it."

"Seriously?" I ask in surprise.

"How'd that happen?" Korra asks.

"Asami told me about the partnership and that guy's company revenue. His numbers are insanely good and just keep growing. There can't be any other way of getting money like that without illegal means," Mako explains.

"And this basis came from...?" I ask slowly.

"I did numbers with the Triple Threats once," he reminds me.

"Mako told me all about his theory, and sure enough things seem to check out," Lin adds. "There's not enough information to convict Lau, but hopefully the raids on these banks will bring up the evidence we need to do so."

"Fun," I quip.

"Anyone else coming?" Lin asks.

"Asami's still busy with Future Industries, and Bolin's got a busy day today as well," Mako replies.

"Luon's sitting this one out too, just to make sure he's fine from the dog bite," Korra adds.

"She means she threatened him to stay behind because she's super paranoid and protective," I correct with a smirk.

"Hey!" she scowls at me. "You're lucky I don't threaten you squirt!"

"Alright, enough of the chatter," Lin snaps with a glare. "We need to get moving before we lose our window of opportunity."

* * *

While Lin and Mako drove with the police force in the direction of the banks, Korra and I followed astride Naga, keeping up with them at a sprint. Several cars splinter off to cover the other banks so that the raid would be happening all at the same time. I kept my arms tight around Korra's waist as we bounded through the streets, covering ground quickly with the wailing police cars and airships up ahead.

Soon enough we reached one of the banks, and officers all piled out of their vehicles and moved to the bank entrance. Me and Korra jumped off of Naga and met up with Mako while Lin led the charge into the bank. I kept a hand on my lightsaber as we moved inside, not expecting to need it but still being careful just in case I do.

"Youngest police officer in history?" I ask Korra with a grin.

"You're not a police officer," she shoots back.

"Yeah, I am," Mako declares with a wry grin.

We both roll out eyes but continue onwards into the bank. As we make our way down towards the vaults where the Triad's money is stored, I can't help btu get the feeling that something is wrong. It's prickling at the back of my mind, making me frown in concern. I don't feel any danger at all, in fact it's quite the opposite.

It's just that it feels like something went wrong somehow...

Making our way into the bank vault, we come to a stop and widen our eyes in surprise at the sight: it's completely empty. Lin is standing in the middle of the empty room and slowly glancing around, her face unreadable. On the inside however I could sense her hidden fury and frustration boiling.

"What the...?" Mako murmurs in confusion.

"You're sure this was a mob bank?" Lin asks quietly.

"Y-yeah, this was a definite one. I could sense it pretty well," I reply uneasily, glancing around at the room.

"So why is there nothing in here?" Korra asks slowly, confused.

Lin takes a few heavy breathes and takes slow steps around the empty vault, glaring at the few empty bags littering the ground. Other officers in the room stand around helplessly, looking disappointed and letting their arms slump to their sides.

"They knew we were coming," Lin says quietly, chuckling without humor. Her voice turns into a low growl. "Either there's a leak in Shuno's office, or in my very own police force."

Furious at the prospect of there being corrupt cops in her unit, she kicks one of the empty bags to showcase her anger.

* * *

**_Criminal Meeting House - Republic City_**

**3rd person POV...**

The notable members of the Triple Threat Triad, Viper, Zhen, and Tokuga, all walk through a doorway protected by a few guards. They drop off any weapons and bending sources they may have on them, and then proceed further into the meeting room.

Already seated inside were leaders of other rivaling triads, including Jargala Omo. She's an earthbender and the leader of the Creeping Crystal Triad. Normally all of the triad leaders gathered in the room right now would be fighting for each other's territory, and would never come in to meet with each other. However these last several months of drastically changed things, and are forcing all the triad gangs to cooperate in order to ensure their survival.

As the heads of the Triple Threats get themselves situated in their seats with the other gang leaders, a pair of thugs come forwards carrying a radio, and place it at the head of the table. The head of the Agni Kai's frowns irritably and gestures towards the radio with barely concealed annoyance.

"What is this garbage?" he demands roughly.

_"Gentlemen, please. I'm merely here to provide you with my services. Unfortunately I could not make it there in person," _the voice of Mr. Lau filters out of the radio. _"For any of you who aren't aware, my name is Lau, C.E.O. of L.S.I. Holdings."_

The triads in the room all mutter to themselves before quieting down. Jargala sighs and fiddles carelessly with her hair, curling strands of it around her fingers while Tokuga leans back in his chair with a bored expression on his face. Viper frowns at the table while Zhen remains as calm and collected as ever.

_"As you're all aware, one of our deposits was stolen," _Lau starts. _"A relatively small amount, 68 million."_

"Who's moronic enough to steal from us?" Tokuga asks.

"Two-bit whack-job, wears a cheap purple suit and make-up. He's not the problem- he's a nobody," Zhen states dismissively. "The real problem is that our money is behind tracked by the cops."

_"Thanks to Mr. Zhen's well-placed sources, we know that Beifong's police force have indeed identified our banks with the help of Caran, the Avatar's adopted alien brother," _Lau informs the triads. _"As such, they are planning to seize your funds today. Since the enthusiastic new presidential candidate has put all of my competitors out of business during his time in office, I'm your only option."_

"So what are you proposing, Mr. Lau?" Jargala questions.

_"Moving all deposits to one secure location. Not a bank," _he says.

"Where then?" Viper demands.

_"No one can know but me," _Lau says.

Mutters of anger and disapproval filter throughout the room, and Tokuga sits up in his seat, sharing the same incredulous irritation with Viper as he glares at the radio.

"No one but you?" he growls. "You can't be serious."

_"If the police were to gain leverage over one of you Tokuga, everyone's money would be at stake," _Lau replies calmly.

"Then what stops them from getting to you?" Viper asks.

_"I go to Ba Sing Se. Far from the jurisdiction of Chief Beifong and Senator Shuno. And Earth Queen Huo-Ting would not extradite me if she feels there's the promise of money involved," _he informs them.

"You would pay the Earth Queen to stay silent, using _our _money?" Tokuga asks angrily.

_"It's a small sacrifice, but well worth it in the long term," _he reassures them.

"How soon can you move the money?" Zhen asks calmly.

_"I already have. For obvious reasons, I couldn't wait for your permission," _Lau states. _"Rest assured, your money is safe."_

A sudden laugh breaks through the room, menacing and sinister yet filled with a touch of insanity.

Members of the different bending triads all look over towards the entrance of the meeting room, where they spot a man walking towards them without a care in the world, laughing in a mocking tone. Several of the triad members look at the man incredulously, some gesturing in confusion and annoyance, others in disbelief. The man is wearing a purple suit with a green tie. Clown makeup covers his face, and his hair is painted green. The most notable feature about his face were the scars trailing from his mouth.

"And I thought my jokes were bad," the Joker states, tilting his head patronizingly.

"Gimme one reason why I shouldn't have my boy here pull your head off," Viper threatens, gesturing to one of his thugs.

"How 'bout a magic trick?" Joker offers.

Viper stares at him incredulously, and the Joker pulls out a pencil before jamming it down onto the table. He starts waving his hand around it like a magician, while the others all watch in a mixture of bafflement, annoyance, and confusion.

"I'm gonna make this pencil, disappear," Joker says.

As he talks, Viper gestures to one of his goons to remove the Joker, and stares at him with incredulous anger. The thug gets up and attempts to grab the Joker, but before he could the Joker retaliates by grabbing the back of his head and slamming him down onto the table, the pencil going directly into his eyeball. The thug is killed instantly by the pencil piercing his skull, and collapses to the ground. The Joker quickly pulls a chair up and sits down, waving his hands dramatically.

"Ta-da! It's... bah it's gone..." Joker says dramatically, slowly looking over with a grin.

Tokuga crosses his arms with a tiny nod, a little amused, and looks over at Viper, who is steaming with anger.

"Oh and by the way the suit, it wasn't cheap," the Joker taunts, fixing up his suit. "You outta know, you bought it!"

Viper stands up from his chair and clenches his fists, glaring furiously at the Joker. Tokuga quickly stops him before he could do anything, getting his attention.

"Sit," he interrupts, gesturing to the Joker and leaning back. "I want to hear whatever proposition he has."

"You're not in charge here Tokuga," Viper snaps.

"Oh just let him speak, it's not like we have something to lose," Jargala says with a sigh.

The Joker licks his lips and gestures towards the two triad members, looking up at Viper. Viper slowly begins to sit back down at hearing their words, glaring at the Joker, who takes it as his cue to begin talking.

"Let's wind the clocks back a few months. These, cops and lawyers wouldn't _dare,_ cross any of you," he starts off. He looks around the room, raising an eyebrow. "Uh- I mean, wh-what happened? Y-your balls drop off? Hmm? You see a guy, like me..."

"Freak," Viper interrupts with a glare.

A few chuckles of agreement ring around the room, and the Joker continues to ramble on, a spike of irritation flitting through him.

"A... guy like me- Look, listen," he says, looking at Viper critically. "I know why you all choose to have your, group therapy sessions at dawn. I know why, you're afraid to go out in the evenings, or the day."

As the Joker talks, Shen listens in with narrowed eyes. The Joker then leans forwards and levels them all with a serious gaze.

"Team Avatar," he states. "You see, Team Avatar has shown Republic City your true colors unfortunately. Thanks to the Avatar's crazy, wizard-alien brother, they can find anything they need to without much effort."

The bending triads all glance down for a moment, knowing he's right.

"Chief Beifong? She's just the beginning," he continues, before gesturing at the radio. "And as for the radio's... um, so-called plan? The Avatar has no jurisdiction. She'll find him, and make him squeal! I know, the squealers when I hear 'em. And..."

The Joker purses his lips together into a frown and points his finger at the radio. The faint sound of static tells everyone in the room that Lau cut off the calling line to the radio.

"What are you proposing then?" Tokuga asks.

"It's simple, we kill the Avatar and her brother," he states.

Chuckles and scoffs echo around the room as the triad members all laugh at him.

"If it's so simple, why haven't you done it already?" Zhen questions doubtfully.

"If you're good at something, never do it for free!" Joker exclaims.

"How much do you want then?" Jargala asks cautiously.

"Uhh... half," Joker replies, leaning forwards.

More mocking laughs ensue throughout the room.

"You're crazy!" Viper seethes.

"I'm not. No I'm not!" Joker bites out with a growl, before smirking in sarcastic amusement. "If we, don't deal with this now... soon... little, uh, Viper, here? Won't be able to get, uh, a copper piece, for his grandma!"

Viper slams his hands down onto the table and jumps up from his seat, steaming with anger.

"Enough, from the clown!" he roars.

The Joker quickly gets up from his chair and backs away. He opens up his suit to reveal several grenades hidden there, a string attach to his arm ready to pull the pins and let them explode. Everyone else in the room stands up in alarm, and Viper comes to a stop with a wary glare.

"Let's not blow... this out of proportion," he says warningly.

"You think you can steal from us and just walk away?" Viper demands.

"Yeah," he replies casually.

"I'm puttin' the word out! 500 grand for this clown dead! A million alive, so I can teach him some manners first!" Viper declares furiously.

The Joker points an angry finger at Viper, steaming to give a retort before thinking better of it, looking over to Tokuga and Jargala.

"Alright, so listen, why don't you give me a call when you wanna start taking things a little more seriously. Here's my card," Joker says.

He reaches behind him and pulls a card out from his suit pocket, laying it on the table. He then slowly backs away to the exit, raising his finger with the string and humming in silent warning, ready to pull it in case anyone makes a move. All Viper can do is watch in seething anger as the Joker kicks open the door and scurries away outside.

* * *

_Fun fact, all the criminals I've showcased for the Bending Triads are canon characters to the show :)_


	8. Chapter 8 - Planning Secret Activities

**_Air Temple Island - Republic City_**

**Caran POV...**

"They knew?!" Tenzin says incredulously.

"Yes they did. I've got some corrupt officers working in my police force," Lin scowls furiously.

"Man, we've got some really bad luck with this kind of stuff," Bolin comments casually, leaning against the wall.

Lin whips her head around to glare at him, the rest of us more exasperated, and he widens his eyes in alarm. He quickly changes to seem like he's fiddling with some flowers in a vase on a nearby table-stand, whistling an innocent tune. Mako shakes his head with a sigh.

"How do you know that?" Tenzin continues.

"There's no way for them to know about my plan with Caran otherwise, not to mention how the Triads still seem to be working right underneath our noses," she states angrily.

"They've been in business for a long time," Mako says bitterly.

"Well isn't that just stupid," Korra grumbles, crossing her arms with a frown. "You think we could sniff them out?"

"Me," I correct her, and she rolls her eyes. "But, I've been all around the police for a while I haven't felt any..."

I falter with a frown, which the others take notice of.

"What is it?"

"...Vyra or the Messenger might be hiding them from me," I admit uneasily.

"It makes sense that they would do that," Lin says with a nod of agreement, still looking furious. "But the fact that there is a dirty cop, or more, have done this behind my back is infuriating. Whoever it is, is gonna be sorry when I get my hands on them!"

"What about Lau? You said he's likely to be involved with this right?" Asami suggests.

"Oh yeah! Why don't we go talk to him?" Korra suggests eagerly.

"Lau is gone," Tenzin says, dropping our hopefulness. "He departed back to Ba Sing Se just earlier today."

"Out of our jurisdiction," Lin growls.

"Seriously? He really wanted to partner a deal with Future Industries," Asami comments.

"He wasn't willing to risk us rooting him out as being involved by staying," Lin deduces bitterly.

"So we can't go after him? Man, that sucks," Bolin says glumly.

"...well, maybe not the police," Korra starts to say.

I frown at her curiously before understanding her idea, brightening up at it.

"Oh, yeah! I think that could work!" I say in agreement.

"What're we talking about now?" Luon asks.

"No," Lin states sternly, realizing what we meant.

"Absolutely not!" Tenzin adds.

"I'm confused," Bolin says.

"Oh come on, I think it's perfect! You can't go arrest Lau in the Earth Kingdom because you don't have authority there, or whatever. But I'm the Avatar; my job is to the entire world. So we can just go get him ourselves!" Korra explains.

"Wow, I never thought about that," Bolin remarks. "I like it!"

"It makes total sense. We can totally pull it off!" I add in support.

"Is it really that simple?" Luon asks.

"Seriously?" Korra deadpans, narrowing her eyes at him.

"What?" he asks defensively.

"Luon's right Korra, it isn't as simple as you're making it out to be. Being the Avatar doesn't mean you're allowed to do whatever you please wherever you go," Tenzin states, frowning. "You still have to abide by the law. And I doubt the Earth Queen would allow you to 'kidnap' someone without her approval; which is very unlikely."

"The main reason you're allowed to do vigilante stuff in Republic City is because you have my approval, and that of the United Republic. You can just go around like you own the place!" Lin says sternly. "Team Avatar is an unofficial organization for the United Republic. The six of you lawfully can't do what you're suggesting, especially you Mako. You're one of my officers."

"Ugh! All these laws and rules are so stupid," Korra groans irritably.

"So does this mean we have to talk to the Earth Queen?" Mako asks.

"Negotiation is our only option, but I doubt the Earth Queen will ever agree to our wishes," Tenzin sighs grimly.

"Well I have to go there to meet Lau. I still have to negotiate our business deal, since he left before it was resolved," Asami adds with a disappointed sigh.

I then get an idea, and lighten up hopefully.

"Hey wait a second, I've got an idea on how we can get him!" I speak up.

"What?" Korra asks curiously.

"So we can't go as Team Avatar; Whatever. So why not just go secretly to his place and bring him back here? Asami already needs to make a deal with him, so we just get him after!" I suggest.

"Secret stuff?" Bolin asks. "You think we could do that?"

"I don't know," Luon shrugs.

"So you're suggesting we kidnap him?" Tenzin asks, raising an eyebrow.

"That's illegal, Caran. Especially considering the scenario you're suggesting," Lin frowns.

"They don't have to know it was us," Korra insists. "Seriously, this is a great idea!"

"I still don't know..." Tenzin trails off.

"There's a warrant for Lau's arrest here already, right?" Mako asks.

"Yeah, so what?" Lin asks.

"If he's found to be guilty, which we know he is, then the Earth Queen shouldn't be able to pardon him, right?" he deduces.

"Oh, yeah! So we get him without anybody knowing it's us, get him to talk, and then the Earth Queen can't demand his return when he's proven a criminal!" Bolin concludes happily. "Mako you're a genius!"

Lin and Tenzin look at each other thoughtfully, mulling over the idea.

"That... could work," he comments.

"Alright, we'll try it," she decides.

"Yes!" we exclaim, all jumping for joy.

"But there will be limitations!" she adds, silencing us. "Mako, you're one of my officers so you can't participate. Asami, you're going to meet him, so it would be way too suspicious. The rest of you, under any circumstance you cannot let it be known who you are. That means no lightsaber or usage of the Force, Caran; and Korra, you can only use one element throughout the whole operation. Naga and Pabu can't come either."

"Oh... sorry Pabu," Bolin says, scratching the ferret's chin.

"Don't use air, Korra, that'll also reveal your identity," Tenzin adds. "If you are discovered, then there will be nothing that me or Lin can do to legally secure your release from prison."

"Ok... so it's more difficult," Luon remarks.

"I still think we can do it. Get in, get Lau, get out. Don't be identified," Korra summarizes.

"Cool," I remark, before frowning. "So what will I do?"

"Don't worry kiddo, I'll show the ropes around not having any abilities," Luon says with a grin.

* * *

**_Triple Threat Triad HQ - Republic City_**

**3rd person POV...**

A few balls roll across the green surface of the pool table as Viper makes his move. He smiles to himself, but then frowns when the door to the room opens to allow one of his fellow triad members into the room.

"Yo Viper, there's somebody here for you," Two Toed Ping says. "They say they've killed the Joker."

Viper raises an eyebrow. "Did they bring the body?"

"Yeah, right outside," Mushi, an earthbender, says.

Viper stands up with a suspicious frown on his face as a few people enter the room, two of his bodyguards carrying a body wrapped in trash bags. One of the newcomers, a pale skinned man with yellow eyes, looks around carelessly. Viper pays him no attention and approaches the body once his guards set it on the pool table. Viper rips off the bag covering the body's head to see that it is indeed the Joker, laying lifelessly.

Scoffing to himself, Viper looks up and takes a few steps towards the pale skinned man with a neutral expression on his face, although slightly disappointed.

"So, you killed him. That means you get 500-" he starts to say.

Viper never gets to continue before the Joker lunges up from the table, stabbing two switchblades into the bodyguards on either side of him to propel himself forwards. Viper whips around at the sudden gasps from his guards as they died, only to find the Joker grabbing the back of his head and sticking a knife in his mouth.

"How 'bout alive, hm?" Joker asks mockingly.

The pale skinned man also acted, his whole body changing into that of a green reptilian humanoid. During the transformation he whips out his lightsaber and then viciously grabs Two Toed Ping, shoving him onto his knees and holding the lightsaber to his throat. Two of his goons grab Mushi and the remaining bodyguard, holding blasters to their heads and holding them captive on the floor.

Another figure then stalks into the room, filling all of the Triple Threats with fear at the sight of her; Vyra Ren. She casually surveys the room and eyes each thug long enough to frighten them, before leaning against the shadow covered doorframe.

"I believe there's business to discuss," she comments with a hiss.

The Messenger glances at her for a moment before looking at the Joker, who still has the knife in Viper's mouth.

"W-what do you want from me?" Viper asks nervously, glancing at the knife with fear.

"Well that's a funny question, you see," Joker starts with a snicker. "I just want to tell you a story."

He then leans closer to whisper into Viper's ear.

"You wanna know how I got these scars?" he asks, sounding meek and childish.

Joker pulls back to give Viper a quick nod of his head, sick delight held in his gaze while Viper stares back, unsettled and confused at the question.

"My father was, a drinker... and a fiend. And one night he goes off crazier than usual. Mommy gets the kitchen knife to defend herself; he doesn't like that. Not. One. Bit," Joker says with a slight growl. "So, me watching, he takes the knife to her, laughing while he does it. He turns to me and says... 'why so serious?'"

Viper glances between the Joker and the knife he keeps slowly moving in his mouth, stricken with fear.

"He comes at me with the knife... 'why so serious?' He sticks the blade in my mouth... 'let's put a smile on that face!'" Joker growls with a wild grin, tugging the knife against Viper's cheek. "And..."

Joker pauses in his story and then glances at Two Toed Ping and Mushi, an uncaring expression of calm on his face. The two Triple Threat's look back with absolute fear.

"Why so serious?" he asks casually.

Ping flinches with fear as Joker slashes the knife through Viper's face, a small amount of blood spraying out from the cut. Messenger holds him firmly in warning while Viper's body collapses silently to the floor, and Joker starts pulling off the trash bags.

"Now, our organization is still a bit small, but we've got a lot of potential for... aggressive expansion! So, which of you fine gentlemen would like to join our team?" Joker says gleefully, picking up a pool cue. "Oh, there's only one slot open right now so we're going to have... try outs."

He snaps the pool cue in half and then drops it onto the floor in between the Triple Threats.

"If you use any bending then my little friend here will just kill you all," Joker says, patting the Messenger on the shoulder while walking by, who just scowls in annoyance. "Make it fast."

Vyra quietly exits the room while the Joker follows after her, a slight skip in his step. Messenger and the other two then release their captives, shoving them onto the ground in front of the pool cue.

Ping, Mushi, and the other Triple Threat thug all glance at each other and the broken cue, which is now sharp enough to stab with.

* * *

**_Air Temple Island - Republic City_**

**Caran POV...**

"Ok, go again."

I rush forwards at Luon and quickly sweep my leg at him, but he jumps over it. I get back to my feet and move away as he kicks his foot out, and he lunges forwards. He delivers a few fast jabs, which I deflect or duck away from, and then try shoving him away.

I push Luon back, but he also grabs my arm and yanks me with him, pinning me onto the ground. I groan in defeat and roll my eyes, and he helps me back up.

"Ugh, that sucked," I grumble.

"Well I can certainly tell that style of fighting isn't your strong suit, but there's nothing wrong with that," he replies. "Still, I think you're good enough against any regular guy."

"It's gonna be so hard no using the Force though, and I'm still kind of... ehm... small," I admit reluctantly.

"HAH!"

I look back and make a face at Korra as she walks by, scowling at her. She smirks in response before disappearing, and I groan in annoyance. I so did not want her to hear that.

"Well, didn't Jarik talk to you about using the Force to enhance yourself?" Luon asks.

"Yeah, but I'm not very good at it," I shrug.

"Nothing wring with trying though, and it's not like it could hurt," he tells me.

"Alright, well, thanks for the advice," I reply gratefully.

"No problem," he says with a smile.

"Hey, handsome sauce! Come and help me with choosing our sneaky outfit!" Korra calls out, reappearing around the corner.

I snort, withholding a laugh at the nickname while Luon looks over incredulously.

"Seriously? Handsome sauce?!" he shouts back in annoyance.

"Yeah, get your butt over here, or you're sleeping on the couch!" she continues. "You better watch out too squirt! You're still small!"

"Hey!" I call back in protest.

"We don't even share the same sleeping area anyways," Luon replies irritably, walking over.

I watch them head off, making a face before turning around to gather my things. However to my horror I find Ikki and Meelo messing with my lightsaber, having somehow appeared out of nowhere.

"I am now a Jedi Master! Yaahh!" Meelo exclaims.

He starts waving the saber around, grunting furiously as he tries turning the blade on.

"Hey, let me try! I know how to use it!" Ikki argues, rushing forwards.

"No way!" he replies.

"WOOOAHHAHAOH WOAH! Stop it! Give me that!" I exclaim in a panic, rushing over.

"Hey, I found it first forcey-boy!" Meelo retorts.

"Meelo!" Jinora shouts, appearing from around the corner and sprinting over. "Don't mess with that! It's dangerous!"

"I know, that's why it's mine!" he replies, smacking the handle. "Woah!"

I was about to take the lightsaber away from him when my senses scream in warning. I let out a startled shout as the green blade suddenly ignites, and just barely roll out of the way.

"Cool!" he squeals.

"Meelo!" Jinora exclaims angrily. "You almost hit Caran!"

"Ok, just give it here!" I exclaim irritably.

Raising my arm, I use the Force to rip my lightsaber out of Meelo's grasp and into my hand, quickly turning it off.

"Aww!" he whines.

"MEELO!" a voice yells.

We look over to see Pema quickly rushing over to us, a expression of alarm and fury on her face. Meelo widens his eyes and folds his arms behind his back, a nervous expression on his face.

"What were you doing with Caran's lightsaber?" she demands, glaring at him with her hands on her hips.

"I wasn't hurting anyone, I just wanted to hold it!" he defends himself.

"It's not a toy Meelo! We're having a serious talk about this!" she fumes angrily. Pema grabs his hand and starts pulling him with her to their house. "You're in big trouble young man!"

"Mommy!" he whines.

We watch him get dragged off by Pema, letting out sighs of relief once they're out of sight.

"Thank goodness for that," Jinora remarks.

"At least he didn't hit anything with it," I add in agreement.

"Can I hold your lightsaber?" Ikki asks hopefully.

"No!" I instantly reply, shooting her down.

"Aww!" she whines, before instantly brightening up again. I look at her uneasily as she bounces on her feet, readying myself for her barrage of questions. "So what was Luon doing with you? Are you guys going to get that bad guy from the Earth Kingdom? How's your Jedi training going? Did you know Jinora has a crush on you!?"

"IKKI!" Jinora shouts angrily.

Jinora and I both have red faces at the last question, the former glaring angrily at her sister.

"What? You do!" Ikki insists. "You guys should go on a date!"

"I don- ugh! Just go read that new love novel we got!" she snaps.

Ikki gasps excitedly and then rushes off at a very quick sprint, squealing eagerly. She disappears after getting onto an air scooter and zooming away, blowing wind through a few bushes and trees. We both stand there awkwardly, still red in the face and quiet, until Jinora breaks the ice.

"She's just being... uh..." she starts.

"...silly, right? J-just silly," I suggest.

"Yeah, she's being ridiculous."

"Just crazy talk, yeah."

"Yeah, crazy. I mean we're not d-dating, umm..."

"Nope, not dating! You're right."

"Uh huh... u-unless you wanna... uh, hang out?"

"Maybe, yeah. Just hanging out. Like friends."

"Like friends," she agrees with a quick nod.

After the fumbling of words over each other we stand silently once more, twiddling our thumbs and looking anywhere except at each other. At the very least the redness in our faces seems to be going away.

"So... uh... you're going to get that Lau person?" Jinora asks.

"Oh, yeah. He's most likely helping manage all the triads' money, so we need him to shut them down," I explain.

"Sounds important for sure," she agrees. "You're getting him from the Earth Kingdom?"

"Hmm hmm," I confirm.

"I've heard that the Earth Queen isn't very nice. Kind of a slob," she recalls thoughtfully.

"Uh huh, so we're doing it secretly," I tell her.

"Cool! Is that why you were sparring with Luon? Because you can't use your lightsaber or the Force?" she asks.

"Yeah. Kind of sucks but, I guess it happens," I shrug in response.

"I wish Jarik left a book about the Jedi or something. I really want to read about them," she says wishfully. "I think you should practice more martial arts!"

"What do you mean? I practice," I reply, confused.

"You practice using your lightsaber, or with the Force," she corrects. "You don't really have a fighting style aside from that. I think you need one!"

"Well... what do you suggest?" I ask her.

"I would say airbending martial arts," Jinora suggests, before shrugging. "Or maybe some of that self-defense stuff that Luon and Asami learned."

"I guess… where would I start with that though?" I ask her.

"Maybe I can show you some stuff!" she offers excitedly. "Air bending movements are easy and very useful!"

"I don't know about easy but… yeah, I see your point," I admit curiously.

"Cool! This means that I get to be your teacher now," she notices happily.

"Let's not take it too far," I protest. "You'll be more like a… like an advisor!"

"I'm not advising you though, I'm teaching you new things," she states with a frown, narrowing her eyes.

I sigh in exasperation, conceding her point.

"Ok, you win. You're the teacher," I reply.

"Great! Lets go over to the library! I want to show you some of these things first!" she says eagerly.

With that being said, Jinora grabs my arm and starts dragging me away, causing me to yelp in surprise. Managing to get her to stop dragging me, I follow along as she leads me in the direction of the library, wondering what ideas she has in mind.

* * *

**_Senator Shuno's Office, City Hall - Republic City_**

**3rd person POV...**

"Lau's halfway to Ba Sing Se," Senator Shuno says in frustration. "If you'd asked, I could have taken his passport. I wish I was involved a bit more with this."

The presidential candidate was currently pacing around in his office while Tenzin and Lin stood on the other side of his desk, both carrying stern expressions on their faces. Lin's expression was more of an irritated scowl.

"All that was left in the vaults were a few empty bags. They knew we were coming!" Lin states angrily. "There's either a leak within the police, or in your own office Senator."

"My office?" Shuno asks doubtfully. "I find that very hard to believe."

"Believe me, I get it; it's hard for me to believe that there's someone hiding under my nose as well," she replies bitterly. "But clearly there is someone. Be it your office, or my police force."

Shuno sighs in frustration, running a hand through his hair to relay some of his stress.

"This is just getting ridiculous. Clearly these criminals are a lot deeper in the system than we ever thought," he scowls.

"I'm only theorizing, but this could possibly be the result of Tarrlok," Tenzin suggests. "He went through great lengths to maintain his power over the city, so it's not too far of a stretch to believe that Tarrlok would've used the triads as a resource."

"It makes sense. He was certainly high up enough in the government," Shuno scoffs in agreement. "We need Lau back to bust the triads, but the Earth Queen won't extradite a national under any circumstances; especially one who has money to give."

"If we get him to you, can you get him to talk?" Lin asks.

"I'll get him to sing," he states confidently.

"We're going after the triad's life savings. Things will get ugly," she warns him.

"I knew the risks when I took this job, Chief. Same as you," he reassures her, before becoming curious. "How will you get him back anyways? Legally you have no authority."

Lin and Tenzin both glance at each other, and Shuno frowns in realization.

"Team Avatar is going to grab him?" he asks knowingly.

"Essentially... yes. But officially they won't," Tenzin replies hesitantly, a little sheepish.

"What do you mean? Because you know there will be a problem if you just send the Avatar over to take Lau without any reason," he reminds them in disapproval.

"We know, and we already discussed it with them," Lin says with a nod, crossing her arms. "It's a bit out there, even for me."

"Only three of them will go to apprehend Lau, and they'll be kept undercover. As far as the public is concerned it'll simply be an act done by nameless kidnappers," Tenzin explains, and Shuno listens apprehensively. "We keep his presence in our custody a secret, and once you get the information out of Lau, the Earth Queen won't be able to demand his release against irrefutable proof."

Shuno stays silent for a while, considering the plan.

"It's a risky move," he finally says. "I just hope it works out in our favor."

"It better," Lin replies firmly.

* * *

**_Future Industries Airship - Earth Kingdom_**

**Caran POV…**

So Asami has her own airship… I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, she now owns one of the richest companies in the United Republic. At least it was before, so now this little trip isn't as easy for her as it normally would've been. Luckily for us, Lau himself actually helped a little bit with payments.

To continue his 'business plan' no doubt.

All of Team Avatar is here, along with Lin and Tenzin to supervise. Officially we're all still back in Republic City, aside from Asami and Mako, in order to keep the operation we're planning quiet.

"Alright all of you, listen up," Lin says, getting our attention. "If we're going to pull this off we need to keep our presence hidden, so you'll follow my plan for this."

"Alright," Korra says.

"Asami, you'll be traveling to L.S.I. Holdings to conduct your business with Lau. Mako will be going with you to act as a guard," she tells them.

"Got it," Asami says.

"Understood, Chief," Mako nods.

"The rest of you, you'll be infiltrating his building later at night with your outfits to conceal your identity," she says, turning to us. "Caran, you'll be leaving your lightsaber behind and not using the Force for this. Korra, you will limit yourself only to waterbending."

"Why not firebending? It's not as limited inside of a building," she asks with a frown.

"And also creates light," Lin counters. "The goal is to be unidentifiable. Using fire puts that at risk."

Korra sighs in disappointment but nods her head in reluctant acceptance.

"Bolin, you'll be on the ground to cut off the electrical lighting," Lin says. "Since you can't metalbend, you're regular style will cause too much mayhem."

"Really? Well that's disappointing," he says glumly, slumping his shoulders.

"He has a point bro," Mako replies with a shrug.

"Yeah I know but... I can be sneaky!" Bolin declares.

Everyone makes a face, and we all slowly shakes our heads in disagreement.

"Hmm..."

"Not really."

"No."

"Kind of loud."

"Then I shall learn to be sneaky!" Bolin declares, raising a finger. "I shall be so sneaky that even an Equalist henchman will never see me coming! No, the Messenger shall not see me coming! And then I will strike!"

He slashes his arm in front of him in a dramatic fashion to emphasize his point, grinning at us. Lin just rolls her eyes in annoyance, while Tenzin sighs.

"Luon, you'll be going with Korra and Caran," she continues.

"Sounds good," he nods.

"How're we planning on getting in?" I ask curiously.

"You'll be jumping buildings," she replies.

"Come again?" Luon asks, raising an eyebrow.

Korra and I both glance curiously at each other, wondering what she could mean by that. Sure, the two of us can do it, but Luon can't.

"And then your escape route will be a cable, and the airship," Lin adds.

"Ok, now I'm confused," I reply, and Korra nods in agreement.

* * *

**_Joker's Gang HQ - Republic City_**

**3rd person POV...**

Vyra looks out of a window that overlooks a dark courtyard, silently mulling over her thoughts. Her attention is drawn back to the forefront when the door opens, allowing the Joker and the Messenger to enter the room.

"That was quite a blast," Joker comments with a snicker. "Sure got the Triple Threats all riled up now."

"Whatever you say Joker," Messenger sighs, irritated.

"I mean if you ask me, I'd say that their leaders are a bunch of whiny pansies. They don't understand the thrill of the job, you know?" Joker continues, brushing his hair. "All they care about is money. Money money money- and then I swoop in and BAM!"

Joker slides across the ground on his feet and makes an exaggerated kicking motion, spinning around with a whoop. Messenger remains still with his arms crossed, continuously growing more annoyed.

"They certainly need something better to focus on," Joker continues to say before shrugging, flipping a knife in his hand. "Well, at least that Viper guy is dead. Boy, wasn't he annoying..."

"Could you please spare us a moment, Joker?" Vyra interrupts.

"Hmm?"

Joker looks up at Vyra, who is still staring out the window without any movement, and then shrugs. The Messenger tenses up with a wary look, glancing at Vyra suspiciously.

"Ok, sure. If you really need the privacy," he comments carelessly, making his way out of the room. "Oh! Just uh... make sure to keep it down, alright? Some of the boys downstairs aren't too interested in hearing lots of 'thumping' all the time."

Messenger snarls at him furiously, taking a step in his direction with a murderous glare on his face at the insinuation. The Joker just hollers with laughter in response, a sick grin on his face as he ducks out of the room and slams the door shut. Messenger growls to himself and turns around to face Vyra.

"I can't stand that 'freak show' of a human," he snarls angrily.

"He is but a pawn, Scar'lok. Despite his insanity he has great use for us," Vyra retorts calmly, finally turning around. "You could at least try to ignore his behavior. You're the one who brought him to our attention."

Messenger scoffs, shaking his head in disgust and glancing to the side.

"As it so happens, there is something we need to discuss," Vyra says, approaching him with a glare on her face. "You still have yet to answer for your failures. My master remains displeased."

"Our master-" he retorts, trying to hide his fear.

Vyra lunges out with her arm and grabs his throat with her hand; not with the intention of choking him, but sinking her sharp nails lightly into his flesh. He grimaces as she pulls him closer, fear filling his eyes as he stares into hers, which are full of cold rage.

"Do not presume to be my equal, Scar'lok. As the Master of the Knights of Ren, I am Snoke's one and only apprentice! You are nothing more than an acolyte!" she hisses.

She releases him with a violent shove, drawing a small amount of blood from his neck as he grunts, his skin stinging from where her nails pierced him.

"Once our alliance with the Joker is finished, and his use to us ended, we will be returning to the Supremacy. There you can explain your failure to Snoke himself," Vyra states, glaring at him. "Whether or not you are still worth much to him will determine if you may continue your role here on Reylea."

Messenger holds a hand to his throat, rubbing the areas where she scratched him, looking at her warily with fear. Doing his best to hide it he scoffs and looks away, but inside he is dreading the prospect of explaining things to Snoke himself. Whenever someone disappoints him the consequences are always deadly.

"Fine," he mutters.

"Do not take this lightly, Scar'lok," Vyra warns him. "He does not tolerate such pettiness."

* * *

**_L.S.I. Holdings HQ - Ba Sing Se_**

**Asami POV…**

After arriving at Lau's office building, he greeted me with a fairly pleasant attitude and led me up towards a dining area that overlooks the city. It certainly has a great setup, providing a beautiful view of Ba Sing Se that stretches over miles. The wind blows calmly by us, making the decorative plants on the patio flutter lightly in the wind.

Lau and I were both eating lunch, a casual and comforting way to continue conversing with each other. Despite all of Lau's politeness, the fanciness of his building, and the amazing offer that partnering with his company would give me, I still had to say no. The more I've looked into it after Mako's revelation, the more it becomes easier to notice that Lau isn't fully 'legal' in his growth. And now that Republic City has issued an accusation for Lau, partnering with him would do more harm for Future Industries than good.

"I must apologize for leaving Republic City in the middle of our negotiations. This misunderstanding with Chief Beifong's police force… I couldn't let such a thing threaten my company," Lau says apologetically.

"There's no apology necessary Mr. Lau," I reassure him with a small smile.

"I'm glad that you understand my plight, Ms. Sato, as a fellow businessperson," Lau replies with a pleased smile. "Now that you're here, we can continue the negotiations of our deal."

I falter in my chewing as I listen to him, slowly setting the fork down and swallowing my food.

"Well it was very nice of you to bring me out here in such style Mr. Lau. But I've actually come to tell you that we're going to have to put our deal on hold," I inform him regretfully.

Lau's movements stop upon hearing the words, and he sets his utensils down as well. Based on the way he's staring at me, I can tell he's absolute furious despite trying to hide it. That alone makes me feel like I just made a very good choice.

"As much as our two companies would be able to benefit from one another, Future Industries is in a very difficult situation right now," I explain, gaining confidence. "Not just financially, but also with our reputation. Because of the actions of my father we're already treading on light ground, and with whatever it is you're accused of being… we just can't afford it."

Lay continues staring silently, and I offer him a small smile of apology, not actually feeling sorry.

"I'm sure a business man of your stature will understand my company's plight," I add calmly.

Lay silently gets up after several long seconds of silence, and I stand up from my seat as well.

"…I think, Ms. Sato, that a simple telephone call might have sufficed," he states coldly.

"Well, I haven't visited much outside of the United Republic," I comment politely. "And I didn't want you to think that we'd been deliberately wasting your time."

"Just accidentally wasting it," he replies cooly.

"That's good Mr. Lau! Accidentally. Very good," I laugh softly. "It's nice to know that I was right about you having a sense of humor."

"Indeed," Lau says with a tight smile. "Very well then Ms. Sato. I wish you good luck on the continued… future, of your company."

We both shake hands with each other in a formal manner, but I can feel the tension in his hand from his frustration.

"Thank you Mr. Lau," I reply with a smile. "I hope your misunderstandings are resolved soon."

After our formal goodbyes I make my way out of the building, leaving a quietly furious Lau to fester in his frustration. Passing through security I meet up with Mako and bid the guards a respectful bow, exiting the building.

"So how'd it go?" Mako asks me.

"I think I believe you completely now," I reply, glancing his way. "He wasn't happy at all when I canceled the deal."

"He didn't do anything to you, right?" he asks in concern.

"No, he was really quiet about it," I reassure him, grinning. "But I could tell."

"Well that's good. Glad you're alright," he replies with a smile. "I guess now it's time for us to leave so that Korra's team can move in."


	9. Chapter 9 - Major Crime Bust

**_Ba Sing Se - Earth Kingdom_**

**Caran POV...**

Up on top of one of the taller buildings in Ba Sing Se, Korra, Luon and I were gathered in the dark of night, getting ourselves ready for our mission. Despite the intensity of our reason for being here, I couldn't help but marvel at the look of the massive city spread out below, millions of lights illuminating the whole place. Never in my life have I seen a city so massive, having lived in the South Pole for most of it. Even Republic City was much smaller than Ba Sing Se, despite having the taller skyscrapers than the latter.

As we get ourselves ready Tenzin waits with us to supervise, giving us the final details.

It was kind of exciting what we're about to do right now, and I certainly look the part as well. I'm dressed up in a long black tunic and pants, with an Equalist mask to cover my face. Korra and Luon both shared the same outfit, making us look like Equalists even if they managed to get a better look at us, which they shouldn't be able to. Essentially we're just a group of three silhouetted thugs that are invisible in the night. Along with our disguises, we also had three gliders in order to fly, one of them being modified to make it easier for me and Luon to fly without the use of airbending.

"You all understand what to do?" Tenzin asks us.

"Yeah, I think we're set," Luon replies.

"Good. Remember, you only have a small opportunity to carry this off before the Dai Li arrive," he warns us.

"You really think they'll get involved?" Korra asks.

"I do. They're brilliant, cunning, ruthless, and under direct control of the Earth Queen," he states firmly. "Lau will most certainly request for their assistance to protect himself."

"Great. Get out before the ninja earthbenders arrive," I remark.

"Indeed," Tenzin nods, giving me a look. "Caran, your lightsaber."

I look up at him in surprise before remembering I still have it, and reluctantly hand it over with a disappointed sigh.

"Wish I could use it," I grumble.

"You know very well that would reveal your identity and ruin the whole plan," he reminds me.

"Eh, can't be too bad squirt. This is still pretty fun, right?" Korra says with a grin.

"Yeah, it is," I admit in agreement.

I turn towards our gliders in order to inspect them eagerly, only to frown when I notice there are only two of them.

"Uh, Tenzin? There's only two gliders here," I say in concern.

"That is correct," he nods.

"But there's three of us," I reminds him, a bit alarmed. "How are we all supposed to do this right if one of us can't even get over there?"

"The gliders are for Luon and Korra. But since you're too young, you'll be flying with Korra," Tenzin states.

I gape at him in complete bewilderment, while Korra and Luon both look over in surprise. However that quickly turns to amusement, particularly for Korra, as they struggle to withhold their laughter.

"Wh- what? Too young?!" I demand incredulously. "What do you mean too young?"

"I mean, you're too young to properly operate a glider safely," he says firmly.

"Tenzin, all of your kids are younger than me, and they fly on gliders! Meelo is five years old for spirits sake!" I argue in protest.

"But they are airbenders, and can safely use them. You however, are not an air bender," he retorts calmly.

"Neither is Luon!" I point out.

"But he is old enough to use it safely. The modified gliders are still too big for you to operate," he tells me.

At that comment Korra bursts out laughing, and I turn around to give her a death glare. Luon is just smiling in amusement, chuckling softly.

"You're not my dad, so stop with the parent safety stuff!" I tell Tenzin.

"I'm not- JUST QUITE WHINING ALREADY! You're flying with Korra!" he snaps irritably.

I let out a long groan of frustration and begin to sulk, glaring at the gliders with my arms crossed as Tenzin moves away, ending the argument. Korra sidles up to me with a smirk on her face, and I look away with a scoff.

"You know, I can't help but feel a bit bad for you," she teases me. "You have it rough being a small guy."

"I hate you," I mutter in annoyance.

Korra snickers at my plight once more and readies herself, pulling her Equalist mask over her head while Luon does the same. After a moment more to grumble at my grievances in life being years younger than the rest of the time, I pull my mask down and join up with them. Tenzin pulls out a radio and begins speaking into it.

"Bolin, are you in position?" he questions.

_"Agent Ferret reporting! I have infiltrated the base and am behind enemy lines!" _Bolin replies with an intense whisper.

"You don't need to act like that," Tenzin sighs in exasperation. "We're waiting for your signal."

_"Roger that! Making my way to the power controls now! Agent Ferret, out!"_ he says, disregarding what Tenzin said.

"Classic Bolin," Luon remarks with a scoff.

"Even I don't do that anymore," I add, a little baffled.

"At least he's enjoying himself," Korra shrugs.

Tenzin sighs, shaking his head.

* * *

**_L.S.I. Holdings HQ - Ba Sing Se_**

**3rd person POV...**

A pair of guards walk beside each other down the empty hallway, silently looking around for any signs of disturbance as per usual. Once they disappear around the corner, a figure peeks their head out from the end of the hallway and begins to quietly creep along the wall.

The figure being Bolin, he is also disguised as an Equalist, using a mask to cover his own face. He looks around anxiously as he continues to creep down the hallway, whispering to himself.

"Stealthy... stealthy... stealthy..." he murmurs. "I'm a spy... on a mission!"

Reaching a door in the middle of the hallway, he looks to see the sign identifying it as the way to the buildings power grid and smiles to himself. He swiftly yanks the door open and then dashes inside, just barely avoiding being spotted by the two guards as they return in the opposite direction.

Now inside the darker room, Bolin makes his way down a short flight of metal stairs and then into the basement, where tons of machinery is set up in order to provide the building with electricity. Bolin gapes at all of the machines, a little uneasy, and then starts making his way through the room.

"Alright, power off, power off..." he says anxiously. "Come on, isn't there just a big giant off switch!?"

He scrambles up and down the rows of electrical panels and switches, grabbing at his head in frustration.

"Dah! Where's Asami when you need her?" he groans.

Bolin then glances to the side to see a circuit breaker, all of the switches on it labeled for their function. He gasps happily and rushes over, frantically looking up and down he console.

"Yes! Night time everybody!" he declares triumphantly.

With the circuit breaker at his disposal, Bolin quickly begins to flip off every switch one by one, shutting off the power to the building one section at a time.

* * *

In his office, Lau is seated at his desk, speaking on the phone to someone while looking over several papers that display the numbers his company is producing.

All of a sudden the power shuts off, disrupting his phone calls and plunging the entire floor into darkness. Lau glances up at the lightbulb above him with a frown and then looks around through his glass windows, noticing that the rest of the entire floor is the same. Coming to a realization for why the power is out, Lau widens his eyes in alarm and gets to his feet, the words of the Joker coming back to him.

_The Avatar has no jurisdiction. She'll find him, and make him squeal!_

And she really did come.

* * *

**Caran POV...**

Waiting for Bolin to shut the power off was nothing but anxiety for us. Luckily our time was cut shorter than I expected, and we watch in relief as the lights in Lau's entire office building turn off, plunging the structure into darkness.

_"Agent Ferret reporting! Mission is a success!" _Bolin says happily.

"Good work Bolin. Make your way to Lin's position," Tenzin replies.

_"Yes sir!" _he says, ending the call.

"The rest of us will be flying the airship. You only have a small window of opportunity to secure yourselves before we pass overhead, so be fast," Tenzin urges.

"Got it Tenzin," Korra says with a nod.

"Good luck you three," he tells us.

Tenzin quickly makes his exit from the roof, while the rest of us get ourselves ready for the flight. Luon gets his glider ready while I look down at the harness I'm holding, groaning once more.

"This is so embarrassing," I mutter.

"Well you can whine later, we gotta go. It'll only be for a few second anyways," Korra urges firmly.

Grumbling irritably to myself I reluctantly begin to strap on the harness so that it's set firmly on my torso. Two long straps hang off of each side, angling towards my back. Making my way over to Korra I stand in front of her, waiting for her to strap it around her as well.

"Oh this will be funny," she snickers, filling me with dread.

She bends her knees slightly to lower herself down and then pulls the straps around herself. She tightens them so that my back is flush against her chest and stomach, securing me to her; I'm about 8 inches shorter than her, so my head only reaches right up to her chin. Then she stands up fully, and I barely withhold a startled noise as I'm lifted off the ground.

Not fully, as the front half of my feet are still touching the ground, but if I was strapped in only a couple inches higher, I would be clear off the ground. Guess it's a 'good' thing that Korra is ridiculously strong, otherwise she probably wouldn't be able to do this.

"Hah! You're like a baby in this thing!" Korra laughs.

"How are you not embarrassed by this?" I whine irritably.

"My amusement at your embarrassment greatly overrides my own," she says proudly.

"Ugh!" I let out a groan. "Feels like everyone is trying to embarrass me…"

"After comparing the both of you to Mako and Bolin, I have concluded that it is a lot more nerve-racking for a guy to have an older sister than an older brother," Luon comments.

"You have no idea," I sigh in agreement.

"We ready then?" Korra asks.

"A little tense about jumping off of a building, but I'm ready," Luon says, readying his glider.

"You already know about me," I respond bitterly.

Korra scoffs in amusement, and then uses her air bending to pull her new glider over to her. Tenzin recently had it constructed for her to use, and it was based off of the design that Aang was given after his original one was destroyed. The color certainly fits Korra better that's for sure, and the style of its wings seems more 'water tribe' than 'air nomad.'

"Good," she says. "Then lets rolls."

"You sure that thing can hold the weight?" I murmur offhandedly.

"You calling me fat, squirt?" Korra demands.

"I don't know, you tell me," I retort, a bit amused.

Instead of responding, Korra takes a running leap and jumps out into the air. I widen my eyes in shock, completely frozen in anxiety as we fall through open air for a few seconds until Korra flips open her glider's wings and shoots us up through the air with her airbending. I breathe heavily to expel the tension I was feeling and scowl up at her.

"Seriously?!" I exclaim.

"That's what you get!" she replies smugly.

Korra loops back around to make sure Luon launches off of the building properly, kicking out her foot to give him a small gust of air for stability. After a few seconds of wobbly flying he stabilizes himself, and starts gliding beside us.

"Not as bad as I thought it would be," he remarks.

"Easy for you to say," I respond, gripping tightly to the straps securing me to Korra.

"Ok, time to get serious. Let's get in there and get out before we lose too much time," she says firmly.

"His office is on the twentieth floor; the one with the balcony," Luon tells us.

We angle in the direction of the correct floor and begin flying towards the building, picking up speed. The Equalist mask proves to be a big help, at the very least I think it does, because the speed we were flying at would surely be blowing intense wind in our faces. The window we were aiming for is now much clearer, only several seconds away from impact.

I feel Korra tense up as we approach it, ready to bust through the glass…

* * *

**3rd person POV…**

Lau marches around his darkened office anxiously, several of his bodyguards making their way over to him. They were all metalbenders with blades on their person, but in Lau's eyes it wasn't enough, especially considering that he himself couldn't bend an element.

"Where are the Dai Li?" he demands.

"Coming," a guard replies.

"What the heck am I paying them for?" he asks with incredulous anger.

The bodyguards all pass each other flashlights and start shining them around the office while Lau stands back, his body shaking with terror. Ripping open his desk he pulls out a sack of deadly explosive pellets for his own protection, and then moves toward the center of the room with his guards surrounding him.

Outside one of the windows the team of three quickly begin their approach, the people inside oblivious to their movement.

While Luon hangs back to avoid the damage of the collision, Korra quickly maneuvers her body around mid flight in order to kick her feet out, also folding up her glider and covering herself and Caran. With her feet out in front of her, she breaks through the glass effortlessly with a combination of her strength and velocity, rolling across the office floor.

She keeps herself and Caran as protected as possible during the impact, and once they're stable inside of the building they disconnect the straps of the harness and throw it aside, separating from each other for as much movement as possible. Luon jumps inside right after them, stumbling a bit upon landing while dropping his glider so that it falls down to the street below, but unharmed.

Startled, Lau and his bodyguards turn towards the commotion in surprise, and their attackers quickly leap into action.

Luon lunges forwards and shoves up the arms of a guard as he tries shooting a blade of metal, forcing his aim towards the roof instead. He pushes him back and then kicks him through a glass barricade, shattering it. Korra charges forwards and jumps into the air, whirling around to smack her staff heavily against a guards head, jabs another in the stomach, and then kicks away someone who attempts to blindside her. Caran faces off against a guard who shoots several sharp blades at him. Sensing them just in time he narrowly ducks out of the way of each blade, and then leaps forwards to kick him in the face.

Panicking, Lay throws a few pellets at the assailants, causing sharp explosive bursts. They quickly duck away from the pellets to fall behind cover, and Lay stares forwards with a tense gaze, eyes flickering in anger and fear.

* * *

A squad of Dai Li agents make their way into the lobby of the L.S.I. Holdings at a brisk pace, hard glares on all of their faces as they approach the front desk.

"Thank goodness your here!" the lobby attendant exclaims. "The assailants are after Mr. Lau!"

The Dai Li sergeant in charge of the group nods his head in confirmation, and gives his squad a simple gesture. As one they all begin sprinting for the elevator, moving as quickly as they could to reach Lau's office.

* * *

Lau and his bodyguards remain tense and anxious as they look around the office, trying to detect any sign of their assailants who look so much like Equalists with the outfits and masks they're wearing.

But Lau knows better than to believe Equalists would be after him.

Across the room, one of the bodyguards lets out a startled scream as a dark figure jumps him, effortlessly taking him down, and the light of his flashlight disappears. Lau whips his head around to look at where the guard disappeared, and a few others begin fanning out to search for the three intruders. Suddenly another guard cries out as a smaller figure jumps up and whirls around to kick him in the face. Lau throws two explosive pellets in the figure's direction, but he ducks away before they could hit him. To his left Lau then sees two green circles that are lightly illuminated in the dark.

"Get them, now!" he roars, pointing them out.

His bodyguards whip around and shoot several blades at Korra, but she easily dodges to the side and then jumps off of a desk, swinging her arms down at them. In response to her movement, water flows out of a pouch set around her waist and shoots down at the bodyguards, smacking them aside. She twirls around and uses the water to shield herself from another blade, then reaches out with a water tendril and grabs the guard's arm, yanking him over in order to kick him in the chest.

Lau attempts to throw more explosive pellets at her, but Caran quickly jumps out of nowhere and kicks them out of his hand, so that they explode harmlessly against the floor. Lau tries swinging his arm around to punch the smaller boy, but he easily twirls past him and smacks his head with a phone. He stumbles back with a grunt of pain only to be tackled by Luon, shoved down to the floor. One of his bodyguards tries to attack Luon, but he quickly backs away from Lau in favor of deflecting his arm away and then delivering fierce jabs to the stomach that leave him breathless.

Scrambling to his feet, Lau tries making a run for it but is stopped when Korra shoots out a water whip to grab his ankle, tripping him so that he falls down again. He hits the ground with a grunt and turns, scrambling backwards with a fearful expression. Korra yanks him over to her with the water and then directs it back into her water pouch in favor of grabbing his ankle with her hand, her staff already set in place on her back.

"Let go of me! Stop this! You can't do this to me!" Lau cries out in a panic, trying to free himself.

Korra's strength proves greater than his own however, and as she drags him over to the broken window she effortlessly swings out her free hand, smacking aside a guard who attempts to stop her. Caran jumps over to the guard and leaps into the air, angling himself to deliver a fierce dropkick which knocks him down. He and Luon then follow after Korra as they make their way to the broken window, their 'prize' secured. Once at the window, Korra wrestles Lau to his feet and then wraps a single rope around them to secure him to her, making it so he couldn't escape. He tries fighting against her continuously, attempting to elbow her in the face, but she ducks her head back and jabs her own fist into his side, halting his efforts with a cry of pain.

"Quit whining you coward," she scoffs irritably.

"We ready?" Caran asks.

"Yeah, let's go. They should be over any second now," Luon says, checking a watch on his wrist.

"What are you talking about?! Let me go you scum!" Lau demands angrily.

"Nope, sorry!" Caran replies cheekily.

Together, the three of them rip out a small cord attached to a small sack that each other them are wearing. With the cord released, a large white balloon, lit up with a bright flashlight, is blown out of each sack and begins floating up high into the air, all of them tied to the balloons by thin yet sturdy metal cables. At that moment a large group of Dai Li agents storm into the office and rush over to them, their hands and feet all covered in hard stones.

"All of you stop right there! Release Mr. Lau at once!" the Dai Li sergeant order.

"ARREST THEM ALREADY!" Lau screams angrily.

"You're outnumbered! Let him go now before we used deadly force!" the sergeant continues, glaring at them.

Korra, Caran, and Luon, remain silent as the Dai Li agents surround them, but don't give up Lau either. Each agent gets into an earth bending stance with their hands and feet in full visibility, ready to unleash their harsh and deadly assault at a moments notice. A sound then gains the attention of Lau and all of the agents, and they look around in confusion and unease while the three kidnappers smile in relief. The balloons are now at least two hundred feet in the air and still rising, when they are all caught but something.

The cables are pulled taut as Caran, Korra, and Luon are swiftly yanked out of the building and out into open air. Lay screams in fright as he's pulled out with Korra, and the Dai Li agents quickly rush to the window and look out with bewildered expressions, the sergeant looking more upset and infuriated. A small airship had passed over the building and swiftly nabbed the balloons, yanking their passengers along with them. They began rising up in the air as the airship started ascending higher, and the four people connected to it were also being pulled up as well.

* * *

**Caran POV…**

I breathe out a sigh of relief as I'm lifted up to the airship, where Lin was using her metalbending to pull us all inside through the metal cables. I'm more than happy to be back on solid footing again as I step inside of the airship, quickly moving away from the open hatch. turning around, I watch as the cables are pulled up along the winch they were attached to, which was connected to the machine that caught the balloons from the sky. Luon is pulled inside the airship next and is immediately followed by Korra, Lau in tow.

As soon as their feet touch the ground Asami presses a button to close the hatch while Mako separates Lau from Korra, only to restrain the cowardly man himself and cuff his arms behind his back. Korra, Luon and I all sigh in exhaustion and pull our masks off of our heads, also slipping the balloon sacks off of our backs.

"Well, that went well," Korra remarks.

"Went well?" Bolin suddenly exclaims, rushing over to us. "Dude, that was amazing! I can't believe you guys could stomach that!"

"Don't recommend it," I reply offhandedly.

"I'm glad everything turned out alright," Tenzin says in relief, making his way over to us.

"Let go of me at once!" Lau snarls, gaining our attention. "You have no right to do this!"

"Just sit down and be quiet, Lau," Mako snaps, shoving him to sit down against the wall. "You've got a lot to answer for."

"Answer for what, exactly?!" he retorts with an angry glare.

"Supporting criminals in my city?" Lin offers as an example, marching forwards.

"Chief Beifong," Lau says with a mocking chuckle. "You do realize you have just committed a crime, do you not? This was a breach of international affairs, and the Earth Queen will not stand for it!"

"The Earth Queen doesn't know who was responsible for this," she retorts calmly.

"It won't take a genius to figure out, once I'm seen back in Republic City," he argues.

"Your reappearance in Republic City does not mean that the government was responsible for your kidnapping, nor can the Earth Queen accuse us without any form of proof whatsoever," Tenzin states firmly. "But by the time she knows you're back in Republic City, we'll have all the proof needed to exposed you as the criminal you are, and international law states that countries interfere in legal affairs of other countries when the evidence proves the accused is guilty."

"So you claim, Tenzin," he scoffs angrily. "You don't have any proof that I'm a criminal!"

"The business numbers from your company speak for itself," Asami points out. "Your profits increase at a rate that can only be explained through illegal revenue streams."

Lay glares angrily at her while Asami smiles back in satisfaction, and Korra bumps her shoulder in approval.

"That being said, there's enough evidence to hold you on trial for crimes of money laundering," Lin states, giving him a look. "You're going to help us make sure the bending triads are put out of business."

"Even if I were willing to help you, Chief Beifong," Lay starts, smirking up at her. "The moment you're seen returning to Republic City with me, it will be known that Team Avatar was sent under your orders to illegally apprehend me from a foreign country. Then you'll have no choice but to release me."

Lin frowns at his statement and I look around at the others in concern, realizing that none of us thought about how we were going to smuggle Lau back into Republic City without being exposed as having broken international law.

"Hmm… ooh, ooh, ooh! I have an idea!" Bolin suddenly exclaims.

"This better be good bro," Mako says, a bit apprehensive.

"It most certainly is, dear brother," he replies with a confident smile. "I need a marker, and some paper!"

We all share confused and bewildered looks with each other, while Mako just sighs in exasperation. Even though Lau was as smug as good be, he still seemed a bit confused by Bolin. Surprisingly however, I could sense complete confidence and assurance in the idea from Bolin, much to my curiosity.

What is he thinking?

* * *

THE NEXT MORNING

* * *

**_Police Department - Republic City_**

**3rd person POV…**

Seated at her desk, Lin looks through various case files relating to the Joker and his increasing activity. There are also several brief clues relating to the two Knights of Ren present, even a sighting of the Messenger in one photo, but no news whatsoever on Vyra Ren and where she could possibly be. She's certainly much more elusive and secretive than the Messenger for sure, and the Joker isn't even really trying to hide whenever he does something.

Hearing footsteps approaching, Lin looks up and sets the papers aside as Saikhan and another officer named Ramirez walk into her office, slightly bewildered expressions on their faces.

"You're gonna want to see this," Ramirez tells her.

"What's this about?" Lin questions with a frown.

They both glance at each other, and then Saikhan turns to answer her with a sigh.

"It's easier to show you than to explain it," he says.

Although Lin is greatly amused and cheering in satisfaction, she keeps the expression of confusion on her face and stands up, allowing Saikhan and Ramirez outside. Once they reach the front entrance of the building, she follows them through a crowd of confused but excited police officers, who were all standing around one of the lamp posts at the bottom of the steps.

Laying against the lamp post, on the ground and clearly knocked out was none other than Mr. Lau. Taped onto his chest was a piece of paper that read: _'Please deliver to Chief Beifong!'_ Along with the cops were also a few reporters, taking pictures of Lau and the reaction of the police, murmuring to each other about the story.

Lin lets some of her exasperation shine through at how Lau was set up, followed by amusement and satisfaction, and then gestures for a pair of officers to take him inside, to which they readily oblige.

* * *

Upon waking up, Lau immediately demanded to have his lawyer be brought in for defense of his case, which Lin reluctantly agreed to as per the law. She also called Senator Shuno in to let him know that Lau was back in their custody, which he was very excited to hear about, immediately making his way over to the police department.

Shuno arrived at the compounds in only 30 minutes, bringing along his fiancé to help with interrogating Lau. They greeted both Lin and Tenzin, who were both there as well. Then Mera volunteers to interrogate Lau, walking into the interrogation room where he was cuffed to a table with his sleezy lawyer, Torvin, sitting beside him.

Lin, Tenzin, and Shuno all watch from beyond a one way glass wall, which was a fairly new addition. Along with the one way glass, the prison cells and interrogation rooms were also recently renovated, and our now made out of platinum. This was to prevent any potential metal benders suspects from attempting to escape and, in Lin's personal satisfaction, ensures that any possible double-agent cops will have a harder time doing any shady business.

"Alright Mr. Lau, I'm going to move straight to the point," Mera starts off, setting some papers on the table. "You don't have many options here, and it's quite clear at this point that your company has been profiting through less than legal means. That's enough for us to put you in jail to serve some time."

Lau stares up at Mera with an impassive expression, although the anger was noticeable.

"If I might interject," Torvin interrupts with a condescending tone. "I'm afraid that you don't have the right to send my client to prison, nor should you even be allowed to hold him here as a suspect. My client was brought here against his own will, from foreign soil, by your own government. That is a clear violation of international law."

"If the United Republic was responsible for that, then it would be," Mera confirms with a nod. "However, as it turns out the United Republic was not involved. And unless there is any such evidence that comes up, Mr. Lau will be treated as would any other citizen here."

From outside the interrogation room, Lin, Tenzin, and Shuno, all watch the proceedings with thoughtful expressions.

"She is good, I'll give her that," Lin remarks.

"Yes, she certainly is," Shuno replies proudly, before lowering his voice. "To be honest though, Torvin technically is correct about this."

Tenzin sighs in response.

"Trust me, I'm not fan of having to do what we did either," he admits grimly.

"Neither am I," Lin adds in agreement. "But we would never have gotten Lau back otherwise, and we know he's involved in this criminal conspiracy. Heavily involved."

"To which I fully agree," Shuno nods in reply. "But if word of this gets out then everything will crumble apart like dominoes, even if it's fully proved the extent of his criminal activity."

Tenzin and Lin both share a look of grim understanding, knowing just how true that was. Back inside the interrogation room, Mera begins pressing her case.

"So Mr. Lau, despite your clear illegal activity, there is a way for you to lessen the blow," Mera says, gaining Lau's attention. "Give us the money, and we'll deal."

"The money is the only reason I'm still alive," Lau replies calmly.

Satisfied in getting somewhere, Mera leans down against the table and speaks in a softer tone.

"You mean when they hear that you've helped us, they're going to kill you?" she asks knowingly.

"Are you threatening my client?" Torvin demands.

"No, of course not," Mera replies, shaking her head and standing back up. "I'm just assuming your client's cooperation with this investigation. As will everyone."

Mara starts making her way towards the door, glancing back at them.

"Enjoy your stay in County, Mr. Lau," she says.

"Wait," Lau says, and Mera stops with a smile, turning to face him inquisitively. "I won't give you the money, but I'll give you my clients. All of them."

Curious, Mera turns around a takes a few steps toward the table.

"You were a glorified accountant," she remarks. "What could you have on all of them that we could charge?"

"I'm good with calculation," Lau replies confidently. "I handled all their investments. One big pot."

Raising an eyebrow in interest, Mera turns around again and makes her way to the door. Outside of the interrogation room, Shuno's eyes brighten up at Lao's offer, and he turns towards Lin and Tenzin.

"I've got it. RICO. If their money was pooled we can charge all of them as one criminal conspiracy," he declares triumphantly.

"Charge them with what?" Lin questions.

Mera enters the room with them as Shuno begins eagerly explaining the case.

"In a RICO case if we can charge any of the conspirators with a felony—" he starts to say.

"We can charge all of them with it," Mera finishes with a smile.

Shuno nods at Mera in excitement, Lin and Tenzin also sharing a smile, and then she turns back and enters the interrogation room once more, approaching Lau.

"Mr. Lau, do you have details of this communal fund? Ledgers, notebooks…?" she questions.

"Immunity, protection and a chartered airship back to Ba Sing Se," Lau requests with a smile.

"Once you've testified in open court," she retorts. "So with your clients locked up, what happens to all that money?"

"Like I said: I'm good with calculation," he replies calmly.

With the deal done, Lin turns toward Shuno with a determined look in her eyes.

"He can't go to County. I'll keep him here in the holding cells," she states.

"For what reason?" he asks, confused.

"I don't trust them over at County," she says.

"You sure you can trust them here too?" Shuno asks doubtfully. "You said it yourself that there's possibly a mole in your police force."

"And I will be sure to showcase my displeasure with them when they are found," Lin nods firmly. "But I'm more confident in my abilities than County. Lau stays."

Shuno looks off to the side with a frown, contemplating, before nodding his head in resignation.

"It's your call, Chief. I hope you're right," he concludes.

"I am, senator," she replies confidently.

* * *

Outside of the police department, Senator Shuno and Mera walk down the steps to be faced with a crowd of reporters, all of them eager for questions. One of them gets through, and gives more of a statement than the rest.

Earth Queen Huo-Ting claims that the Earth Kingdom's international rights have been broken," she says.

"I don't know about Mr. Lau's travel arrangements... but I'm sure glad he's back," Shuno says in reply.

* * *

**_Kwong's Cuisine - Republic City_**

Tokuga, Zhen, and Jargala were all seated at a table in the fancy restaurant, eating food while listening to the radio. Hearing the statements given regarding their money accountant, Lau, they all had frowns of concern and displeasure on their faces.

"I've put the word out. We hire the crazy clown," Tokuga states, scowling. "He was right about Lau. We have to fix the real problem: Team Avatar."

Jargala remains impassive in her response, not giving a sign that she heard him, while Zhen shakes his head and looks over at the entrance of the restaurant. Walking through the doors is Chief Beifong, who casually saunters up to their table and crosses her arms, giving them all a look.

"Our guy certainly looks good on the podium," she remarks. "He'll most likely win the presidency after this."

"You sure you want to embarrass me in front of my friends, Chief?" Zhen asks.

"Don't worry about a thing. They're all coming, too," Lin states with a smile.

Right on cue, a team of metalbending police officers come banging through the door of the restaurant and begin rounding up all of the criminals present, much to the bewilderment of the employees. Tokuga throws his fork down angrily before a metal cable is wrapped around his wrists, and he's yanked out of his chair by two officers. The same happens to Zhen and Jargala, although they are more submissive and calm through the whole thing, the only sign of their anger visible through their disgruntled facial expressions.

Lin watches with great satisfaction and triumphant as the triads are all rounded up, pleased with the whole thing. Never before had she ever took part in such a successful take down of criminal organizations; she doesn't think even her mother conducted such a huge bust before.

* * *

**_City Hall Courthouse - Republic City_**

"...849 counts racketeering, 246 counts fraud, 87 counts conspiracy murder..." the judge reads off slowly.

He finally puts down the list of crimes on his desk, accidentally revealing a card. He glances at it curiously for a moment, noting the image of a Joker, before turning towards the courtroom.

"...how do the defendants plead?"

All at once, a mob of defense lawyers begin shouting in an attempt to get their voice heard, the courtroom filled with criminals and their lawyers. The only people that aren't as rowdy are the heads of the triads.

The stenographer for the court is completely bewildered by all of the lawyers, and looks up at the judge helplessly.

* * *

**_Air Temple Island - Republic City_**

**Caran POV...**

"I only have one thing to say," I comment, looking at the newspaper. "This, is, AWESOME!"

"Heck yeah it is," Korra replies in agreement.

We both raise our hands and give each other a high five, before continuing with our meal.

"I can't believe you guys stormed his office building! That sounded really fun!" Jinora says in amazement.

"Went a lot better than we expected that's for sure," Luon remarks. "I'm just happy we got those punks all rounded up."

"Yeah. All thanks to us," Korra jokes sarcastically. "Honestly though, the way we delivered Lau still baffles me."

"No kidding," he replies with a scoff. "A rare moment of Bolin's genius at work."

"Why? What'd he do?" Jinora asks, beaming with curiosity.

"In order to not get caught for kidnapping Lau, we knocked him out and then Bolin attached a piece of paper to him with a message saying to give him to Lin," I explain, amused. "We just played him in front of the police station without anyone noticing and then waited for Lin and the police to find him."

"Wow. That's actually a very smart way of not getting caught," she remarks.

"Tell me about it," I reply in agreement.

"Want to know something else that's funny?" Korra asks her, a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me," I scowl irritably, immediately realizing her intentions.

"She's never gonna let you forget this Caran," Luon says with a sympathetic shrug.

"You don't say?" I mutter.

"What?" Jinora asks her.

"Part of the mission involved me carrying Caran like a baby," Korra says, flashing me a teasing smirk. "He was so embarrassed!"

"Carrying him like a baby?" she asks in bewilderment, a grin also spreading across her face. "This I gotta know!"

I lay my head down on the table in frustration, hiding my reddening face, as Korra eagerly starts telling Jinora about the whole 'harness' garbage. Soon she's laughing as well, all three of them teasing me. Even Luon is teasing me, although he's a lot more subtle and quiet about it, also seeming sympathetic to my plight at the same time.

Kidnapping Lay and getting him to jail was really fun, but this aftermath with the joking about my small height sucks. I'm only twelve, I've barely started my growth spurt, cut me some slack!

* * *

After having lunch we all retreated to our rooms to get some shut eye, exhausted from a minimum amount of sleep on the airship last night. In the evening however I was woken up by a strange sound, and after a few seconds of listening in confusion I brightened up happily, recognizing it as the sound of a ship. Korra wasn't in bed, probably already awake, so I got dressed as quickly as possible and made my way outside.

Jarik's ship had landed somewhere in the forest nearby, I could just barely see it through the trees, and he was already in the courtyard with Korra, Tenzin, and Luon greeting him. I quickly walked down the steps over to them and he looks over upon noticing me, nodding his head with a small smile.

"Hello Caran," he greets.

"Hey Jarik," I reply, forgetting what I should say. "Uh, nice to see you back again."

"Nice to be back as well," he replies, a little amused. "You look tired."

"We uh, were on a mission to the Earth Kingdom to get a criminal. Didn't get much sleep on the way back," I explain.

"I can imagine," he comments.

"I think I know why he's tired," Korra says with a smirk. "It's because Caran here is my adorable little baby!"

"Korra!" I snap in frustration and embarrassment.

"Ouch," Luon remarks, laughing.

"Well you are squirt, it's never gonna change!" she retorts smugly.

"Do you really have to try and embarrass me in front of Jarik though?!" I say with a whine.

"Sometimes I have to wonder if you're an incarnation of Bumi, instead of Aang," Tenzin mumbles, and I withhold a laugh while Korra frowns at him.

"Excuse me?" she demands.

"Bumi?" Jarik asks, confused.

"My older brother. He's a commander of the United Forces… and a bit crazy, if I'm being honest," Tenzin explains.

"Ah," he replies, nodding his head.

"Where is he anyways? I thought he was hanging out around here after the whole Equalist thing," I recall with a confused frown.

"Luckily he decided to stay working with the United Forces instead of living here," Tenzin says with a sigh of relief.

"Really? Because I heard he was ready to retire soon," Luon says.

"WHAT?!" Tenzin exclaims, horrified. "Wh- where did you hear that?!"

"…I thought it was common knowledge. I read it in the paper," he replies cautiously.

"Oh great. Now he's going to want to love here," he groans in despair.

"Can't be that bad, can it?" Korra asks.

"You have no idea…" Tenzin murmurs in reply.

"Well Caran, I assume you're having trouble being embarrassed by your older sister?" Jarik asks me knowingly.

"It sucks," I state glumly.

"Come on, you know you love it squirt!" Korra teases.

"Go jump in the ocean," I retort.

"I'll admit I never had 'sister' problems, but I know where you're coming from," Jarik tells me, patting me on the shoulder. "The way I get back is by either ignoring the lady, or coming up with some witty retort that can shut her up instead."

"You sexist!" Korra cries out mockingly.

"Aw shut it. The adult is talking," Jarik retorts easily.

Korra's mocking expression turns into one of genuine exasperation and disbelief, and I stifle an amused laugh at how quickly her whole demeanor changed, taking no small amount of satisfaction from it.

"You could follow the same advice Luon," Jarik advises, looking over at him.

Before he could respond, Korra beats him to it.

"Do any of that, and you'll be getting it," she promises darkly.

Luon glances at her anxiously with a hint of alarm, intimidated by the threat, and then raises his hands up placatingly.

"You know what Jarik, I'm uh, I'm good!" he quickly replies.

"Good answer," he shrugs.

I make a face at Korra, to which she makes one back in return.

"So, how have things been going with you and the Republic?" Tenzin asks.

Jarik sighs, losing his casual demeanor.

"A lot has happened, actually. That's what brought me back a bit quicker than I had intended," he replies.

We all share concerned looks, wondering what that could mean.

* * *

**_Joker's Gang HQ - Republic City_**

**3rd person POV...**

Inside the warehouse, Vyra stood leaning against the wall up on a balcony, casually picking at her nails as the Messenger and the Joker approached her, the latter adopting an excited grin on his face.

"Well, well, well, guess what we just learned!" Joker says in amusement. "The bending triads have decided to accept my help!"

"Have they now?" Vyra asks with interest, looking up at them.

"They have, just as we planned they would," Messenger confirms.

"Then it's time you took action, Joker," she states.

"Well it's about time," Joker says happily in content.

He moves over to a nearby window up on the balcony and looks out into the city beyond, his shoulders hunched as usual, he wild grin on his face.

"The opening act needs to be... clear. In their little faces. Bold!" he muses thoughtfully.

"Such as?" Messenger questions.

"...I want to make a statement," he replies. "Something that will gain the city's attention and fear in a moments notice. Something horrifying!"

Joker then whips around to face them, an inquisitive expression on his face.

"Say, uh, when does the other Jedi get back here?" he asks.

"He's already arrived earlier today," Vyra tells him.

"Oh, good. That's good," he nods in reply, licking his lips. "Hey, either of you know about that cosplaying girl who talked to the Avatar? Y'know, the girl that dresses up like her?"

"Her father's bending was restored by the Avatar," Messenger states. "You planning something involving the girl?"

"Yeah, it would be a good start! Hit them a little too close to home. They'll be horrified," Joker says, grinning. "It'll be the perfect way to send a message."


	10. Chapter 10 - Escalation

**_Air Temple Island - Republic City_**

**Caran POV...**

Tenzin leads us inside his study where he, Korra, Luon and I, sit down in chairs to listen to what Jarik has to say. He sits silently for a moment, hands held together underneath his chin in a contemplative posture before starting.

"The First Order reached out to the New Republic, requesting that we hold a conference between the leaders of both groups," he tells us. "The Chancellor accepted."

"I thought you guys were at war with each other," I recall, frowning.

"Cold War, not actual fighting. More of a standoff," he corrects me. "But the Republic doesn't want to take any chance of it turning into a real war."

"That's good, right?" Tenzin questions.

"Normally, but the First Order is led by Snoke, so he will make a move at some point. As long as they're around, it's inevitable. The Republic disagrees," he explains, sighing. "So we went to participate in the conference. Me, my wife Ahsoka, and Luke Skywalker—a fellow Jedi Master and good friend—went along with the Chancellor."

He goes quiet for a few moments, and then continues.

"We were met by few high ranking officers of the First Order and then, for the first time, came face to face with Supreme Leader Snoke himself," he reveals.

We all widen our eyes in surprise and glance at each other, baffled and unsure of what this could mean. The dark side master, Snoke, coming to participate in these discussions himself? That can't have been good!

"Oh…" Korra says uneasily. "What… what is he like?"

"I've encountered Snoke before, despite it never being truly in person, but I was still unsure of what to expect. Throughout the whole event he portrayed himself as a kind, if a bit firm, old man who only holds different views on how a government should better serve its citizens," Jarik says, looking unsettled, something that makes me nervous as well. "That's what the Chancellor and her associates saw, but for Luke, Ahsoka and I… we could sense his true nature. It's as if all the warmth is sucked away, replaced by a malicious sense of cold. I've never felt anything like it before. He doesn't just command the dark side... it's as if he _is_ the dark side."

The way Jarik describes it, how he looks very unsettled, anxious, and worried just at the thought of Snoke's presence, makes me very afraid. I thought I've felt the terrible cold of the dark side before, first from the Messenger, then Vyra… but what Jarik is describing just sounds horrible.

"How could the rest of your group not see how bad of a person he is?!" Luon asks incredulously.

"Snoke may seem to be a kindly, frail old man, but he is brilliant, deceptive, and cunning. He knows how to play people and bend them to his will, even if they're not aware of it. He's a master of manipulation, perhaps even on par with Darth Sidious," Jarik explains grimly. "And he didn't attempt to hide the fact that he was a Force-user."

"What do you mean?" I ask him.

"He actually revealed to being a wielder of the dark side which, is admittedly a smart move. Darth Sidious hid his true identity as a Sith Lord so that he could conquer the Republic; now it seems like Snoke has nothing to hide. He explained his point of view and his apparent goals in such a way that they would be very acceptable reasons," he explains, sighing. "As such, the Republic agreed to their terms for a truce in the hopes of ending the tension between both governments."

"Just like that?" Korra asks, baffled. "But he's an evil guy! Couldn't you explain that 'Chancellor' person the kind of person he is?"

"Remember what happened with Tarrlok, Korra," Tenzin says with a meaningful look. "He held immoral and selfish ideals, but still managed to manipulate the system to where he was the favorable figurehead. Government leaders do this all the time."

"But wouldn't Jarik's word be taken over Snoke's?" I point out, looking at him. "You are a war hero, right?"

"Unfortunately, it's not that simple. The goal of the New Republic since it was formed was to ensure that no war happens ever again, by any means necessary. The views of me and, for the most part, the rest of the Jedi Order, aren't exactly in line with that since we believe that war with Snoke will be inevitable," Jarik explains sadly. "Despite all that's happened in the past, that's the reality of their thought process, and tension is only growing between us and the government."

"What a bunch of idiots," Korra scoffs, frowning irritably.

"So what'll happen now?" Luon asks.

"Nothing, really. But the First Order is now free to operate however they wish in the section of space that they own, provided it's not against the Republic," he answers.

"Which means Snoke can focus more on us," Tenzin deduces grimly.

"Exactly," Jarik nods in agreement, turning to me. "Caran, I know there are a lot of things about what has been happening that you are unsure of, but I'm going to make sure that you receive the training you need in order to properly face them."

"Ok," I reply slowly, nodding my head.

"While you focus on your training as the Avatar, Korra," he states, looking back to me. "There are some more things you need to do Caran in order to progress. This time I've brought some things to better help you in your training."

"Like what?" I ask him.

"Books, training equipment, and the materials needed to construct your own lightsaber," he tells me.

I widen my eyes in surprise, glancing down at the crystal necklace which is still around my neck, and look back up at him.

"For real?" I say, bewildered.

"Wow, that's pretty cool," Korra remarks. "I wonder what kind of stuff you're gonna do with that."

"Wonder what else he's brought," Luon tells her curiously.

"That's so cool..." I say slowly, amazed, before glancing at Tenzin. "We have time to do all of these things, right?"

"Supposedly, provided the Joker takes a step back for the time being," he replies.

"Time?" Jarik questions, curious.

"Oh, yeah, a lot of stuff happened for us too," I tell him.

"No kidding. We finally threw all of those hoodlums in jail," Korra states with a grin.

He raises an eyebrow at us.

"Sounds like you've had more success than me," he remarks with a small smile, before glancing over at Tenzin. "Anything about Vyra or the Messenger?"

"No, they've stayed quiet," he replies.

"The Joker's done a little bit, but nothing unusual," Luon adds.

Jarik's mouth turns downwards slightly in a small frown, his expression thoughtful. After a moment however he drops the look and nods his head in acceptance of what we said.

"Alright, sounds good," he says.

* * *

THE NEXT DAY

* * *

**_Senator Shuno's Office; City Hall - Republic City_**

**3rd person POV…**

Asami sat in a chair in front of the main desk, which Senator Shuno sat behind in his own chair.

"You wanted to see me Senator?" she asks him.

"I did, yes," he nods in reply. "First of all, I wanted to congratulate you for your part in the arrest of the bending triads."

"Oh, well, thank you," she replies, a bit sheepish. "I don't think I did too much though…"

"Nonsense, no need to be so modest," he responds with a smile. "If it wasn't for your business relationship with Lau we may have never gotten the opportunity to bring him in, and consequently we wouldn't have been able to pull off such a successful strike against the triads. You played an important part."

"Thank you sir," she says, a small smile on her face as well.

"There is also something else I'd like to ask about," he continues. "As you know, election day for the presidency is coming up very soon, and I'm preparing to hold my last fundraiser event. I'd like to have it at Future Industries."

Asami blinks her eyes in surprise, not expecting something like that.

"A-At Future Industries?" she replies, bewildered.

"Of course. I understand that your company hasn't fared very well in recent months, since Hiroshi Sato's actions harmed its reputation," he explains. "You've more than proven yourself to not take the path your father did, and you and your company shouldn't have to suffer for it. If the public sees that I'm willing to work alongside you and Future Industries, then it should help ease their suspicion and distrust."

Asami stares at him with wide eyes, unsure of what to say.

"And also help me get elected of course," he adds jokingly, shrugging his shoulders lightly.

"I… I don't know what to say…" she admits quietly, baffled and amazed. "Thank you!"

"I take it that's a yes?" Shuno questions.

"Of course! Absolutely!" she quickly nods her head. "We can use Future Industries Tower, in the downtown area!"

"Wonderful," he replies in content. "We can go over the details later, whenever you wish."

* * *

**_Air Temple Island - Republic City_**

**Caran POV…**

"Wow… this is incredible…" Jinora murmurs.

I watch her with a bit of amusement and some exasperation as she reads one of the books Jarik gave me. I wonder how he'd feel if he realizes that Jinora is going to read them probably twice as much as I ever will.

"Did you know that the origins of the Jedi go back over 30,000 years? They used to be called Je'daii!" she says.

"Seriously?" I ask, surprised.

"Yeah. That's even older than the Avatar Cycle!" she tells me. "And get this: the Force itself itself is even older, they don't know how old. It was 'birthed' on some planet called the 'Wellspring of Life,' some form of Force nexus."

"That's pretty cool… what else is in there?" I ask her curiously, scooting up beside her.

"Well… there's stuff about history, training techniques, different religious groups…" she summarizes, flipping through a few pages before coming to a stop. "Huh…"

"Is that a… lion turtle?" I ask, surprised.

The page that we stopped at contains a detailed drawing of a large being, looking suspiciously like a lion turtle, although not exactly the same. It has a large beard, a widened old face, massive 'antlers' on its head, and a big rugged shell on its back; unlike a lion turtle, it seems more 'ape-like' instead of like a turtle. The large creature seems to be conserving with another, smaller person standing in front of it. The smaller is clearly a woman, although instead of hair she has some strange horns on her head along with three tails, similar to Vyra. Strange, but not nearly as intriguing as this lion turtle look-alike.

"There's a caption here," Jinora says, narrowing her eyes and reading it out loud. "It says: 'The Bendu. An ancient Force sensitive creature that represents the center of the Force, standing between the light and the dark side. Although much is unknown about him or if more of his kind exist, Bendu is known to be very powerful in the Force, and carries great wisdom.'"

She then lifts an eyebrow, wonder and curiosity dawning on her face as she leans her head a bit closer in eagerness.

"'During the age of the Empire, Jarik Shan and Ahsoka Tano interacted with the Bendu on the planet Atollon, along with…'" Jinora trails off, both of us amazed. "Wow, that's so cool!"

"Is there anything else about it?" I ask curiously.

"No, it just lists three other Jedi and then ends," she replies, a bit disappointed. "I wonder what Bendu is like… maybe he's a spirit or something."

"I don't know if the Spirit World goes beyond our own planet," I point out uncertainly.

"I guess you're right," she admits in agreement. "Still, would be nice to know more."

"About Bendu?" a voice asks.

We both look up in surprise, startled by the sudden appearance of Jarik leaning against the door frame, a slightly amused expression on his face.

"Uh… yeah, yeah, it would be nice," I quickly respond.

"Well, there's not too much to tell. He's very secretive," he comments in reply. "He's ancient, wise, and very powerful. And he doesn't bother himself with anything other than the Force."

"Is he a spirit?" Jinora asks.

"I don't believe so," he says.

"When's the last time you saw him?" she asks curiously.

"Not since before the Empire fell, which was a long time ago," he states.

"He looks kind of like a lion turtle," I comment, looking back down at the picture.

"I noticed that two, when I was looking through your library as well," Jarik nods in agreement. "Curious isn't it?"

"Yeah… the Force is very strange. Even more mysterious than the Spirit World!" Jinora comments.

"I'll take your word for it," he replies with a smile, before looking at me. "Well, are you up to resume your lessons?"

"Umm, sure, I guess," I shrug in reply.

"Great, I'll be waiting out by the meditation pavilion. We've got an hour before Tenzin wants us and your team all together. Said something about some senator of yours wanting to talk," he tells me with a shrug.

"That's probably Senator Shuno," Jinora deduces.

"What's it all about?" I ask him.

"Beats me," he shrugs in response. "I'm still kind of new here… and I'm not the biggest fan of politicians."

With that being said he walks away to leave us by ourselves. Jinora and I share a curious look with each other before I shrug and stand up, following after him. I can't imagine a meeting with the Senator having any bad news right now, not after we caught all of the city thugs.

* * *

**Korra POV…**

"So, thoughts?" Luon asks.

We're both sitting beside each other along one of the stone walls in the courtyard. I glance at him in confusion.

"About what?" I ask him.

"You know, about yesterday. Now that Jarik's back for a little bit," he says.

I frown thoughtfully, shrugging my shoulders.

"Eh, I don't know. I mean, it is cool that he's back here and can teach Caran more Jedi stuff," I comment, grinning slightly. "I wonder what kind of lightsaber he would build."

"Who knows," he replies curiously.

"I hope it's blue... blue is a cool color," I remark.

"Sure you're not a little biased with that?" he teases, nudging my shoulder.

"What? No!" I retort, shoving him back. "I just thinks it's a cool color, that's all!"

"Right, and I'm actually the Messenger," he scoffs in reply.

"Oh shut it," I shoot back, rolling my eyes,before looking at him suspiciously. "You are Luon, right?"

"Of course not. Now die, stupid girl," he replies in mock exaggeration, waving his hand at her.

"Yeah, definitely not the Messenger. You're horrible at playing the bad guy," I say with a laugh.

"Really?" he asks, frowning.

"Ugh, terrible!" I respond with a grin.

"Better than being horribly impatient and reckless," he retorts.

"So what? It's pretty clear where our differences lie," I state firmly. "I'm the girl who takes names and kicks butt, while you're the wimpy sidekick who's sneaky and dances around people."

"Wimpy?" he mutters incredulously, scoffing. "Yeah right."

I grin widely at him while Luon just shakes his head with an exasperated sigh, giving me a look.

"You're stronger than everyone else on the team—Bolin I don't know, it's debatable—so I say you don't get to use that to claim you're better," he says.

"...so you're saying my strength does make me better," I reply.

"Oh for spirit's sake," he groans irritably.

I laugh at him.

"Relax, I'm just teasing!" I giggle, playfully smacking his shoulder.

"Very hard to tell. You're extremely competitive," he replies, although I can tell he's amused as well.

"Yes I am," I say in agreement, smiling. I look out at the trees in front of us, watching the wind blow through them before sighing. "I am a bit worried about the other things Jarik said though."

"About Snoke?" he deduces.

"Yeah. That idea that there's someone out there, who wants nothing but to take over our entire planet... it's scary," I admit uneasily. "And he's focused on me and Caran."

"I'm sure the Jedi are trying their best to stop him," Luon says reassuringly.

"But what if they can't? Their government doesn't care what Jarik or the others have to say," I point out. "And... what if he comes here himself? He's already powerful enough out there, but here..."

I shudder at the possibility of this 'Snoke' guy coming to our planet. I barely know anything about how the Force really works, or how powerful people can be, but if he came here and became even stronger because of all the Force energy here, like Jarik and Katara said about Force users... he'd surely be unstoppable.

"Well let's not worry about that right now," Luon tells me gently. "As long as Vyra is running the show, he's less likely to do anything."

"I know," I reply with a sigh. "I'm just worried for Caran..."

"I think we all are. But I'm sure Jarik knows what to do. He is training Caran after all," he points out.

I turn my head and look over to the cliff where the meditation platform is at, far in the distance. I can make out the forms of Caran and Jarik practicing with their lightsabers, green flashing against gold.

I give Luon a small smile, which he returns with a gentle look, and lay my head on his shoulder.

* * *

**_Senator Shuno's Office; City Hall - Republic City_**

**3rd person POV…**

"Well, this was certainly something," Shuno remarks, scoffing in amusement. "Five hundred and forty-nine, arrests."

Tenzin, Lin, and Team Avatar are all sitting in Senator Shuno's office as he flips through a few papers, Jarik in his own chair at the edge of the group, more of a spectator.

"All at once I might add," Shuno continues, looking up. "You guys certainly pulled off a big one."

"I'd like to say this may be a highlight of my career," Lin comments, unable to completely withhold her satisfaction.

"I'd like to think so too. I don't think even your mother pulled off an arrest this big," he says with a nod, turning to look at the assembled group. "The city, and myself for that matter, are surely in your debt for helping to clean the streets so effectively."

"Thank you Senator. We do our best," Korra replies, smiling.

"With such a large group to convict, are there any concerns about how the system handles them?" Tenzin asks.

"Unfortunately, the head guys will probably make bail," Shuno admits in disappointment. "Luckily the mid-level guys, they can't, and they can't afford to be off the streets long enough for trial and appeal. They'll cut deals that include some jail time."

"I suppose that's expectable. They do have their pockets filled with things," Lin remarks.

"Think of all you could do with 18 months of clean streets," he tells her with a smile, but it then drops. "Now we just have to focus on those space-traveling friends of ours."

"Still haven't heard much about their activities yet," she says, frowning.

"Perhaps they've left?" Shuno asks, looking over at Jarik hopefully.

Jarik shakes his head in response.

"Unfortunately, no. The Knights of Ren obey their master's wishes, and Snoke is… very patient," he explains regretfully. "They won't give up until they achieve their goal."

"That's worrisome," he sighs.

"What about that Joker guy? Isn't he hanging out with the Knights or something?" Bolin points out.

"Haven't seen him either, not since he robbed that triad bank," Mako tells him.

"I'm sure we'll find him eventually. There's only so many places he can hide," Korra states confidently.

"Yeah, and who else?" Caran adds sarcastically.

We're interrupted as the previously silent radio starts blaring up with static, gaining our attention. We all glance over at it in confusion when the sound clears back up, although it's not the regular radio broadcast.

_"Hello citizens of Republic City! Welcome to tonight's game show, run by your favorite host, the Joker!"_ a strange voice exclaims, all giggly and crazy sounding.

"What the...?" Luon murmurs.

"The Joker?" Senator Shuno asks incredulously.

"How has he taken over the radio?" Lin demands quietly in disbelieving anger.

_"Tonight is a special treat, because we have a special guest!"_ Joker's voice exclaims cheerfully. _"Go on, let the people know who you are! Tell them!"_

There's silence for a few seconds.

_"Tell them your name..."_ Joker repeats, quieter this time. His voice sends chills through me.

_"...Ka- Karrisi..."_ a girl's voice replies, obviously terrified.

We all widen our eyes in horror, instantly coming to the realization that the Joker kidnapped a girl and is now doing something to her... over the radio no less! Korra and I both gasp at the realization, glancing at each other with horrified expressions.

"He has a child with him?" Shuno says, horrified.

"Isn't that the same girl..." I started to say, referring to Karrisi; the girl who dressed up like Korra and absolutely adored her.

Korra nods silently, looking a bit sickened.

The Joker starts snickering, sounding almost insane.

_"Are you really the Avatar?"_ he asks

_"...n-no."_

_"Hehehe, no!?"_

_"No..."_

Karrisi is whimpering, clearly terrified.

"Oh my word..." Tenzin breathes out.

Lin grasps for her own radio and calls up someone.

"Saikhan, you hearing this?" she demands.

"I've already got people on it," he instantly replies.

"Find them!" she orders fiercely.

I move closer to Korra, and hold her arm tightly as we both listen to the radio, fearful for the fate of the young girl. Karrisi is an absolutely sweet little girl that looked up to Korra... Jarik stands beside us, his eyes narrowed in grim sternness.

_"Heheh, then why do you dress up like her?!"_ the Joker asks.

He then starts giggling maniacally, sounding like a little kid while also being downright terrifying.

_"...be- because she's a hero... she and her friends help us against the bad guys so... so we don't have to be afraid,"_ Karrisi practically sobs.

_"Yeah... you really do Karrisi, You REALLY DO!"_ he practically growls out.

Karrisi continues to whimper and cry with absolute terror, forming a massive lump in my throat.

All of us are horrified, wanting to do something, yet not knowing what to do. Senator Shuno's hand is on the table, slowly clenching into a tight fist. The Joker then starts quickly shushing her, followed by the sound of a couple of soft slaps against her face.

_"So you think, Avatar Korra and her friends have made Republic City a better place? Hmm?" _the Joker asks. _"Or how about those alien freaks of theirs?"_

I glance up at Jarik and he returns the look, still grim.

_"Look at me,"_ the Joker says softly, and Karrisi whimpers. _"LOOK AT ME!"_

We jump at the sound of the Joker's voice suddenly growling out like a maniacal demon or monster, sounding truly insane.

"Oh my gosh..." Asami whispers, a hand held in front of her mouth.

Korra glances down at me in horror, a look which I return just as fearfully, and then return our sight firmly to the radio. There's silence on the radio for a little bit before the Joker starts to speak again.

_"You see everyone, this is how CRAZY Avatar Korra's made Republic City! You want order, in Republic City. Well, those alien freaks, Caran and the new guy, must turn themselves in so that they can be sent back to space where they came from. We don't want them here, and we shouldn't want them here."_

Everyone glances at us, and Korra grips me tighter. I look up at Jarik nervously, who is now frowning, his face showing heavy concern and worry.

_"Oh, and every day they don't people will die, starting tonight,"_ the Joker drawls, and my blood runs cold. _"I'm a man of my word."_

The Joker then begins to laugh hysterically, and the last thing we hear is Karrisi's terrified screams as the radio cuts out. We're all in shocked silence, unsure of what to think.

"What… in the absolute… monkey-feathers just happened?!?" Bolin shrieks.

"We've got to do something!" Mako insists. "This guy is a monster!"

"Even Amon would never do something so evil…" Asami murmurs fearfully.

"What are we going to do?" I ask nervously.

"I'll tell you what we're going to do. We're gonna find his demented whack-job and give him the beating of a life time!" Korra snaps furiously, cracking her knuckles.

"We can't do anything yet," Tenzin says quietly.

"What?!" we all ask incredulously.

"He's right, we don't even know where to start. And I don't want you six going on a rampant rage through the city," Lin states firmly.

"So we're just supposed to let this Joker freak kill little girls now?!" Korra demands furiously.

"Something has to be done!" Shuno suddenly shouts, surprising us by slamming his fist on the table.

"Senator, I understand your frustration but… we can't rush into something as delicate as this," Tenzin says.

"Tenzin, the fact is that we have a raving lunatic running around our city, who is now targeting innocents. This was meant to scare us! He's no longer focused on the triads," Shuno states firmly. "I'm not where I am today by letting these people get off scot free."

"We have to find him first," Lin states.

"Jarik? You haven't said anything yet," I point out.

Everyone turns to him, and he remains silent with his arms crossed, a frown on his face.

"...the Joker, isn't just a freak. From what I've heard in this short time he's sadistic, and a murderer, but he doesn't do things by accident," he finally says. "So if you're getting furious and riled up, it's probably because he wants you to be."

"I think that's why acting out of anger right now is not a good idea," Tenzin adds.

I slump over, nervous and afraid, while the others all silently steam in their anger, frustration, and unease. Senator Shuno sighs in frustration and starts walking over to the window of his office.

"I understand your point, Mr. Shan. But we still have to apprehend this… this animal, before anyone gets hurt. By any means necessary," he states.

All of a sudden, somethings falls down from above and slams into the glass right in front of Senator Shuno: the body of a girl. We all let out screams of fright, and Shuno jumps back with a startled shout and a curse; only Jarik doesn't scream. He and Lin rush up to the window and observe the body, and we all get good looks as well.

Asami, Korra and I all gasp in horror upon recognizing it as Karrisi. She's in her Korra outfit but also has clown makeup all over her face, which is also bloodied and beaten. A rope is tied around her neck, allowing her to remain hanging in front of the window. Bolin shrieks at the sight of her, all of us afraid and horrified.

"Oh my gosh!" Asami screams, covering her mouth.

Korra grabs my shoulders and turns me away to keep me from looking, hugging me close. Still I already had a good view of Karrisi's corpse, shaken up badly. Even the things that the Messenger did were never this brutal… I shut my eyes and hug her back, trying to erase the image from my mind.

"That monster! He's above us!" Lin growls.

"I don't sense anyone," Jarik replies, looking up at the roof with narrowed eyes. "You kids stay here: Lin and I will go."

"What about-" Luon starts.

"Just stay!" Tenzin exclaims.

"Chief Beifong, if you find him up there then I have no problems with you ending his life if necessary," Shuno states angrily.

"Neither do I," Lin replies fiercely.

* * *

**Jarik POV...**

I follow after Lin Beifong's lead as we quickly make our way through the building and to the stairwell. On the concrete steps Lin stopped us for a moment, lifted her foot and slid back a metal plate on her boot, and slammed her foot into the ground. Through the Force I could sense her using her own form of detection, mapping out the area. After a few seconds she retracts her foot.

"The Joker and two others are floors above us!" she states firmly.

She's starts sprinting up the stairwell and I follow right after her, keeping pace easily. Reaching out with the Force I sense Lin's statement to be true, although the dark side is present in the other two, giving me a grim confirmation of who they are. We reach the right floor and Lin prepares to burst through before I stop her.

"Let me go first. Vyra is here too," I tell her.

Lin widens her eyes in surprise but nods her head. Looking at the door, I let my mask form over my head and then thrust a hand forward, blowing the door clean off with a single Force push. I rush inside and whip out one of my lightsabers, lunging towards Vyra and the Messenger. The two look up in surprise and ignite their own lightsabers, blocking my strike. However, the strength behind my swing sends them stumbling back, and I bring my lightsaber up to swing it once more.

A sudden blaster bolt forces my attention away to deflect it, and I spot another man wearing a purple suit and strange makeup all over his face, holding a blaster. He's grinning fiercely, with a hint of insanity, and I also notice the scars on his mouth.

"Well that was quick! Way to make an entrance!" he laughs.

Lin instantly thrusts out her metal cables for the Joker. He ducks away from them, but his blaster is hit by a cable, knocking it from his grip. He still laughs however, leading me to determine he is insane; in a way.

"You monsters are going to answer for what you did," Lin scowls.

"Oh I would wait with that, otherwise you'll miss all of the fun," Joker replies.

"There will be none of that," I state firmly.

I return my gaze to Vyra and the Messenger, the latter growling and preparing to attack. Vyra stops him with a simple gesture however, and smirks at me.

"Tell me, Shan, did you find my Master to be enlightening?" she asks.

I narrow my eyes with a frown, and she chuckles sinisterly.

"Until next time, Jedi," she declares.

Lin and I are both confused, but the three of them quickly move into action: not to fight us though. Joker picks up his blaster and, laughing, then jumps out of the open window, followed by the Messenger and Vyra. We both rush up to the window ledge in complete bafflement, which quickly turns to surprise.

Flying through the air and away from the building are two dark clouds of black smoke, large whiffs of it trailing along behind the front like a comet trail. The whirling balls of smoke fly across the city and soon disappear from view, leaving us stunned. That could only have been Vyra and the Messenger, and the Joker would've been with one of them...

"They can fly?!" Lin exclaims in shock.

"Apparently," I reply, deactivating my lightsaber. "Seems that Snoke knows a lot more about the Force than I thought."

"How does the Force allow people to fly in black clouds?" she asks incredulously.

"I don't know..." I admit, unnerved.

I've seen many strange and impossible things in my life, going as far outlandish as I could never imagine. And yet I've never seen anything that would make me think the Force could be used for flight. Only the Mortis gods were capable of flight, but they're on another level of power entirely, so that shouldn't count.

I recall a statement given by someone long ago, a statement I learned despite not having heard him say it personally: _'The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.'_ Well it would certainly seem that he wasn't lying. But what kind of knowledge would it take to learn a way to literally fly through the air?

Just how much about the Force does Snoke know?

* * *

_Lot's of stuff went down, and things are far from over for Team Avatar. It's being realized that the Knights of Ren and Snoke are more dangerous than previously thought._

_Inspiration for the whole 'black cloud flying' thing came from how Voldemort and his Death Eaters could fly unassisted. Based on my version of Snoke's backstory and true nature in the Shaniverse (which is not yet revealed), I think it fits._

_Just to reassure anyone who might be worried, I've got everything mapped out for all of my stories, so nothing important is incorporated randomly or will be left out. Felt like that needed to be said haha._


	11. Chapter 11 - Crashing the Party

_**Author's Note:** Yay, new chapter! Hope you guys can enjoy it! Tbh I have a few reservations, mostly in how it's written since I'm a bit critical of my own work. But so far I haven't really let you guys down yet in spite of that, so I suppose it must be written right! :D_

* * *

_**Air Temple Island - Republic City**_

**Caran POV…**

_I moved up to stand beside the short stone wall, leaning against it to look out at the island. The chirping of birds rings through the morning air, a soft breeze blowing. A few ships sail across the harbor of Yue Bay, the water glinting in the sunlight._

_"Hi Caran!" a voice calls out._

_I glance back to see Jinora standing a few feet away, waving at me with a grin on her face._

_"Hello," I reply pleasantly. "What's up?"_

_"Not much. There's something I want to show you though, something cool," she tells me._

_"Like what?" I ask curiously, turning to face her._

_"Come on, I'll show you! Try and keep up!" she says mischievously._

_Forming a ball of air in her hands she spins around and jumps onto it in an air scooter, speeding away with a bout of laughter._

_"Hey, no fair!" I exclaim._

_Grumbling, I sprint after her, leaving the courtyard and running through the trail that winds between the trees. Her laughter continues to sound from up ahead, and every time I think I'm close to catching up, she disappears in a blur of orange and red._

_"Come on Jinora, you're cheating!" I protest in frustration._

_"I thought being a Jedi made you super powerful!" she calls back teasingly._

_She laughs once more, turning around a bend in the trail. I swiftly follow after her at a run and turn with the trail, which should be just about done. However as I make the turn, the trees suddenly disappear as the landscape changes, instead taking on the appearance of a dark office room, the only light coming from a faint lamp on the desk._

_I stop before I could slam into the door, frantically putting my hands on it in a mixture of surprise and confusion, and turn around to get a better look at the office. It's a foggy night outside, the skyline of Republic City lit up in a dim glow, a thick cloud of mist covering most of the buildings. I'm up high in a skyscraper, the office looking faintly like Senator Shuno's._

_I cautiously approach the window to look out at the landscape more clearly, my reflection faint in the glass. Out of nowhere, a small body suddenly falls down and slams against it, and I jump backwards with a cry of alarm, tumbling to the ground in a heap. Looking at the body more closely, hanging from a rope around their neck, I widen my eyes and gasp in terror upon recognizing it as the bloodied, mutilated form of Jinora._

_"Why'd you let this happen?" her voice whispers in my mind, accusatory._

_I scramble to my feet, a scream threatening to burst from my lungs at the horrific sight. I hastily turn around with the intent to escape, more voices echoing around me._

_"Everybody's got scars little boy," the Joker taunts me. "Want to know how I got mine?"_

_Skid to a halt as I come face to face with a tall figure blocking the door, glaring down at me. I gasp, backing up and reaching for my lightsaber as they ignite a blood red saber, bathing the room in its light._

_"Anything else you'd like to prove, runt?" the Messenger asks. "The rest of your friends will die."_

_The Messenger disappears, but now I'm faced with an even worse sight in front of me. All of my friends, family, everyone I know and cherish… they're all hanging from a noose above a dark abyss. Korra, my parents, Jinora, Tenzin, Jarik… and they all have messy clown makeup painted over their faces._

_"This world will burn!" a devilish voice growls._

_I open my mouth to scream…_

* * *

I snap up in bed with a terrified gasp, shaking uncontrollably in fear and discomfort. Two hands on me cause me to jump up in fright, but quickly realize it's only Korra.

"Hey, hey! You're alright Caran!" she quickly reassures me.

I glance around the room and then back at her, shakily nodding my head and trying to relax. It's still the middle of the night, very little light out aside from the brightness of the city across the bay. Korra is sitting on the bed beside me, dressed in her nightclothes with her hair down, looking at me in concern.

"Was it a bad dream?" she asks softly.

I open my mouth to respond before closing it again, opting to just nod once more.

"Well you're okay now. I'm here," she reassures me.

She pulls me in gently for a hug, and I latch onto her tightly, shutting my eyes to comfort myself in the fact that none of that was real. The image of those hanging bodies with clown makeup just wouldn't leave my mind, extending from my horror from the Joker's message a few days ago. What happened to Karrisi could just as easily have happened to Jinora; a little girl kidnapped and tortured to death by a band of lunatics. The sight of Karrisi hanging from the rope is burned into my mind.

A low whine from beside us gets my attention, and I peek out with one eye to see Naga walking up beside us, nudging me in concern. She rests her head in our laps, looking up with adorable, shimmering eyes, and some of my fear eases away.

"Thanks Naga," I mutter gratefully.

Naga perks up a little with a happy whine, and Korra rubs my back with a smile of her own.

"Feels just like when you demanded to cuddle to us as a baby," she teases.

I groan in response but happily accept it, allowing myself to relax in the presence of Korra's love and warmth, and Naga's contentment. Out of all the places my starship could've crashed into when I was a baby, none of them could be better than this. I can't imagine what kind of life I would've had without my adoptive family.

* * *

**3rd person POV…**

Caran raises his lightsaber with a determined gaze, the green blade humming with energy as he narrows his eyes at his adversary.

A spherical droid hovers in the air, moving around slowly like a predator, tense in preparation to strike. From the sidelines Jarik stands with crossed arms, observing Caran critically as he faces off against the training remote. Sitting nearby along the stone wall are Korra, Tenzin, and Luon, who are watching the training session attentively, their interest piqued.

"Steady Caran… not so tense," Jarik advises.

"That thing is weird…" Korra murmurs.

"No kidding," Luon replies softly in agreement. "I don't care how sophisticated tech is in space, I just don't see how it can float like that!"

The training remote lunges forward, making Caran flinch back and jerk his saber in response, then slowly pulls back. Jarik frowns at the action, his face filled with resignation at knowing what will happen next. Without any warning the remote fires a bright red laser bolt, striking Caran on the side. He jumps back with a yelp of pain and hisses between clenched teeth, growling in frustration. The other three flinch as well at the shot, Korra looking on with worry.

"You ok Caran?" she asks in concern.

"Spirits above, those things hurt!" he snaps irritably.

"Getting shot for real would be a lot worse," Jarik says.

"Oh, have you been shot before?" Caran asks sarcastically.

"I've been blown up before," he retorts, tapping his metal arm for emphasis. "Don't expect it to be pretty."

Caran grimaces in slight apology before sighing, deactivating his lightsaber so that the training remote pulls back to a stationary hover.

"No offense, but why do I even need to know blaster deflections? People here just use bending or small grenade pellets," he argues.

"There's a lot more to this than just deflecting a laser. It's about using the Force to connect to your environment and sense everything around you," Jarik explains. "With the Force you have the ability to see things before they happen, which works greatly to your advantage."

"Not to mention the Joker acquired blasters from the Knights of Ren," Tenzin reminds him.

"Exactly," he nods in agreement. "Now try again."

Caran sighs in frustration but nods his head, turning back towards the training remote. Getting into his stance, he holds his lightsaber up and ignites the blade, which springs the droid into action. It zips around quickly, and Caran keeps his eyes on it intently, waiting for it to strike. The remote then fires a single shot, which he deflects with a swipe of his saber. It eases back, which prompts Caran to relax a little; the remote notices it and takes advantage, lunging forward to shoot him in the leg.

He jumps back with another cry of pain, growling in frustration and limping back a few steps. He deactivates his lightsaber again, frustrated, and Jarik moves forward with a shake of his head while Tenzin frowns in disappointment.

"That's not working for you," he remarks.

"It's too fast," Caran grumbles. "I can't keep up with it."

"Too fast?" Jarik asks, raising an eyebrow. "Then don't trust your eyes."

"What do you mean?" he asks with a confused frown.

In response, Jarik walks over to a small pile of training equipment and picks up a helmet, bringing it over to Caran. He holds it up to him, and Caran instantly spots a problem; he won't be able to see out of it.

"I can't see out of that," he points out.

"That's right," Jarik nods.

Caran makes a face, looking up at him and waiting for further explanation, a bit baffled.

"How am I supposed to block something I can't see?" he asks.

"You don't need to see it with your eyes," he replies.

"He doesn't?" Korra asks, confused. "Wouldn't that be counterproductive though?"

"What he's saying is that Caran doesn't need to use his eyes to fight when he has other tools available to him," Tenzin explains, understanding. "Remember Toph Beifong? She's renowned as the greatest earthbender in history, yet she was born blind."

"But that's different. She had earthbending to help her," Caran points out.

"And you have the Force, remember?" Jarik sighs in exasperation. "Toph used her weakness as a strength and adapted, using her gift to see from a different perspective. With the Force it's no different, only your potential is much greater than hers."

Caran looks at the helmet, reluctant, but eventually concedes his point with a groan and takes it from Jarik, putting it on his head.

"This is ridiculous," he mutters.

"Don't think about seeing with your eyes," Jarik advises. "The Force is all around you. Stretch out with it as we practiced earlier. Feel your surroundings with it."

Jarik steps away to give Caran more space, and he takes a moment to gather himself. Exhaling heavily, Caran turns in the direction of the remote and grips his saber tightly in both hands, igniting the green blade. The remote springs into action, moving around him once more with a few quick dashes.

Doing as Jarik instructed, Caran reaches out into the Force and looks for its power, sensing it within him. Connecting with it, he starts to stretch his gaze out to the space around him, seeking the artificial being that's looking for an opening to attack. He waits, listening to the Force as it permeates throughout his body.

An image suddenly flashes through his mind of the remote zipping to his right, a red bolt firing out at him. Seeing this, Caran lifts his lightsaber up at the same time and deflects the laser bolt, and then swipes his lightsaber around three more times, catching three shots that he saw fire at him moments before. Surprised, he nevertheless lowers his lightsaber and turns it off, pulling the helmet off of his head with a stunned expression.

"You see? Not a problem," Jarik says, smiling.

"Wow… that was pretty cool. Nice job squirt!" Korra says with a grin.

"Yeah, nice work," Luon adds in agreement.

"Thanks guys," he replies a bit sheepishly, looking at Jarik as he plucks the remote out of the air and takes the helmet from him. "You were right, I could see the remote moving. Just before it happened."

"That's good. Even just a little bit of focus can give you great results," Jarik says in reply.

"Is that why Jedi are so good at saber combat?" Caran asks.

"Partially. For skilled combatants like me or the Knights of Ren, using the Force in such a manner becomes natural. We don't even have to think about it," he explains with a nod. "Knowing what move your opponent will attempt next makes it very hard for duelists to overcome each other, which is why we move so fast."

"That sounds really complicated," Caran says with a grimace.

"You'll get it," Jarik reassures him.

"Helllloooooo Team Avatar!" a voice yells.

The group all look over to see Bolin and Mako approaching them, the former with exaggerated enthusiasm while Mako rolls his eyes in exasperation.

"Hey guys," Luon greets. "What's up?"

"You hear the news?" Bolin asks with a grin.

Korra, Luon and Caran all share a slightly confused glance with each other.

"No… what news?" Korra asks.

"We've been invited... to Senator Shuno's fundraiser event at Future Industries!" Bolin declares excitedly, whipping out a piece of paper and starts to read it. "Dear Bolin and Mako; as members of Team Avatar we are honored to invite you to…"

"I think they get the idea Bo," Mako chides him in amusement.

"Right, right," he quickly replies, nodding his head.

"You guys all have letters too," Mako continues, holding them up in his hand. "You got one too, Jarik."

The mentioned Jedi raises a curious eyebrow but merely nods his head in acceptance, a thoughtful look on his face. The other three all look at each other in surprise and interest while Tenzin frowns thoughtfully.

"Asami's hosting a fundraiser for Senator Shuno?" Korra asks.

"And we're all invited! Isn't that great?!" Bolin exclaims eagerly.

"Sure, I guess," Luon shrugs. "When is it?"

"This evening," Mako says. "You guys in?"

"Sure. If it's Asami throwing a party, I'm cool with it," Korra says.

"Would I be… old enough?" Caran asks, making a face.

"You're part of the team! You'll be fine," she confidently replies.

"I won't be able to participate. I have a meeting with Lin this evening to discuss how we're going to deal with the Joker," Tenzin tells them.

"That guy's a nutcase," Mako scoffs.

"A brilliant nutcase," Luon corrects him.

"Not to mention sick," Korra adds.

Caran shivers a little at the reminder of the Joker, remembering what he did to Karrisi. Jarik and Korra both notice, the latter softening her gaze sadly at him.

"Well, sounds like we're in for the party!" Bolin says cheerfully, looking at Jarik. "What about you, space guy? You want to join in?"

"Tempting, but I think I'll pass," he replies with a shrug. "I'll be more helpful going with Tenzin anyways."

"Suit yourself," Bolin shrugs, a little disappointed.

* * *

_**Future Industries Tower - Republic City**_

**Caran POV...**

Later that night we all got ourselves dressed up and ready to go for the event. We all wore the same outfits that we had on at the party Tarrlok once threw for Korra, back during what feels like forever ago, so we all looked the part. Pema decided not to come to the fundraiser since her kids were so rowdy at the last party, especially Meelo, but Jinora was allowed to come. She looked nice in her red dress, with her hair brushed back in a loose bun. Pema was trusting enough of our group to chaperone her for the event.

Once we all arrived at the location of the fundraiser, which was in Future Industries Tower, we all showed our invitations and Asami's butler escorted us up to the penthouse, where the event was being held. Already there were a good number of guests present, ranging from celebrities, business owners, and other politicians. I felt a little bit out of place, as I'm sure Jinora did as well, being so young, but we decided to roll with it.

"Kind of reminds me of the last party we went to," Mako remarks.

"Better not be anymore Tarrlok's here," Korra grumbles, glancing around suspiciously.

"Come on, I doubt Asami would invite people like that," Luon says optimistically.

"Is Senator Shuno a cool person?" Jinora asks me curiously.

"I guess. He seems nice enough," I shrug in reply, thinking about our past encounters.

"Hey guys!" Asami calls out.

We look over to see her walking over to us, looking fashionably gorgeous of course. I'm not surprised. She's wearing a single-strap dress colored a deep red, with hair running down her shoulder in perfect soft waves. I withhold my laughter at sensing Korra's slight jealousy at how much prettier she looks compared to her.

"Hey Asami," Mako replies.

"Glad you all could come," she says with a smile.

"Thanks for inviting us! Who doesn't love a good party?!" Bolin exclaims in exaggeration.

"Yeah, who doesn't?" Korra jokes.

A rumbling echo all around the room cuts through the chatter of people, and we look over to see Senator Shuno standing at a podium over near the opposite end of the room, tapping on a microphone.

"If I could all have your attention, please?" he asks politely.

Conversation dies down as people turn to focus on him more, and our group moves forward a little bit as well. Satisfied, Shuno smiles at everyone and starts to speak.

"First off, I just want to thank Asami Sato for hosting this event," he says, raising an arm in a gesture to point her out. "Despite all of the obstacles in her path, she continues to strive for a better future for her company, moving away from the mistakes made by her father."

Asami's face turns slightly red in sheepish embarrassment at being put in the spotlight, and we give her our encouragement, Korra nudging her arm, while the crowd claps respectably.

"I also want to thank the group known as 'Team Avatar,' for their service in ridding this city of some of the most dangerous criminals we've faced. I'm not sure how well off we'd be without their support," Shuno adds.

More applause follows the statement, and seeing as we're all now in the center of attention it makes me a little bit embarrassed as well, although Bolin and Korra seem to be accepting it fairly well. Thankfully, it doesn't take long for the senator to resume his speech.

"In my career in politics, there've been many barriers that I've had to get around. And this is no different," he states, looking around. "What it all boils down to is who has the most support in an election. That's an important focus for many people. But in my case... I don't just want to have the support of people; I want to earn it. With a position as important as the office of a president, citizens want someone they can look up too, a man they can trust. And that's something I take very seriously. And in this race, it's very important to me that I campaign with the concerns of every citizen in mind. Now I can't promise that I can please everyone, but you know what? I'm going to make sure I give it my best shot. And I'm more than honored to have you all every step of the way. Thank you."

The people clap and applaud his short speech, and he steps down from the podium with a wave of his hand.

"Huh, nice," Korra comments.

"That's all you got to say?" Luon asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Meh. I'm not one for speeches and debates," she shrugs in reply.

"That's accurate," I nod in agreement.

* * *

_**Police Headquarters - Republic City**_

**3rd person POV...**

Tenzin and Jarik walk into Lin's office to find her seated at her desk, looking through police reports with obvious frustration. She glances up at him when he enters but looks back down and sighs, flipping a paper over.

"Having trouble?" he asks her.

"Way to spot the obvious," she replies sarcastically. "Figuring out the Joker's next move is a real pain in the butt. Nothing he does makes sense!"

"Well we do know his motive," Tenzin says. "He wants Jarik and Caran gone."

"Because the Knights of Ren want him gone. That doesn't explain him," she points out.

"He's a tool for them. And he knows it," Jarik theorizes, frowning. "Whatever their goal is, it benefits him."

Lin hums thoughtfully in acknowledgement, and then Saikhan enters the office with a card in his hand. He gives Tenzin and Jarik nod and then stands beside Lin's desk, placing the card on its surface.

"We've analyzed the card left behind on the girls body, but nothing seems to come up," he reports.

"Well that's a bust," Lin says, frowning. "Any ideas on his next targets?"

"Based on what we've gathered, I think he's likely to go after Senator Shuno. Or anyone close to him," he theorizes.

Lin picks up the Joker card and flips it over with a frown, going through her notes again with a critical eye.

"You don't mind if I take a drink, do you chief?" Saikhan asks.

"Be my guest," she replies. "There's enough going on to make anyone stressed."

While she's doing so, the other three turn to each other in conversation, the former pulling out a small bottle of juice from the desk and pouring its contents into a cup.

"I would've thought you'd go to the Senator's fundraiser," Saikhan remarks to Tenzin.

"Normally. But seeing how the City Council's dissolved I don't think my presence will mean much," Tenzin tells him. "There are several things to take care of down here as well."

"True enough. We need all the help we can get," Saikhan nods in agreement, eyeing the cup in his hand. "Wasn't your brother, Commander Bumi, hanging around?"

Tenzin's expression falls to exasperation and annoyance.

"He's putting in his retirement papers," he sighs. "As soon as he finishes that he's said he wants to live on the island with us."

"You don't seem too happy about that," he notes, raising the glass to his lips.

"He's my brother, but it's hard to stand him sometimes," Tenzin explains with a shrug.

While they conversed with each other, Lin continued to look over her notes on the Joker, and the card itself. On the card she notices a few small markings written on the back, unable to recognize them.

"That's strange..." she murmurs.

Noticing her thoughtfulness and confusion, Jarik leaves the conversation and goes to stand beside Lin, looking down at the card along with her.

"What is?" he asks her.

"These markings," she says, pointing to the top right corner of the card. "They look like they're supposed to mean something."

Recalling the previous Joker cards she's picked up since he started his crime spree, Lin rips open a drawer of her desk and pulls out two others, placing them beside the card she was studying initially. She frowns upon noticing similar markings in the same spot of the others, although they were different in appearance. Jarik however, eyes the markings with recognition.

"You're right," he confirms with a nod, a bit cautious. "I know this writing."

"Can you read it?" Lin asks hopefully.

"This is an ancient dialect used by the Sith," he tells her, translating the symbols in his head. "These are names..."

"Names?" Saikhan asks, catching part of their conversation. "What names?"

"There are symbols written on these cards. Jarik says they spell out names," Lin explains.

"Symbols that Jarik can read?" Tenzin asks carefully, thinking hard. "That must mean the Knights of Ren are responsible for writing them."

"Seems so. But why?" Lin asks, frowning in confusion.

"I've got it," Jarik says, reading off of the cards. "'Ivan, Lenehn... Beifong.'"

As he finishes translating he looks up at her with a concerned expression, the others surprised at hearing the names read as well. Lin looks on in bewilderment and unease, before whipping her gaze over to Saikhan in horrified realization as he sips on his drink. She received that bottle of juice this morning...

"Wait, stop!" she exclaims, jumping up from her seat.

Tenzin glances at her in surprise before looking on in alarm as Saikhan starts to choke, stumbling backwards with pained gasps. He falls to the ground on the floor with intense coughs, Tenzin, Jarik, and Lin immediately crouching down to tend to him in a panic.

"Get a medic!" Lin shouts.

Tenzin wastes no time in rushing out of the door, shouting for a doctor or medic to come in while Lin tries desperately to help him, not knowing what to do. It's too late for anyone to come in however, as Saikhan falls still with lifeless eyes, small bubbles forming in his mouth from the poison. Jarik scowls in helpless frustration as his inability to do something in this situation, and then looks up with a grim stare, sensing something through the Force.

"The others are in danger," he says slowly.

Lin looks up at Jarik in surprise, but he sprints out of the room faster than she would've expected. He could sense danger coming from the location of the fundraiser event that everyone else, including Ivan Shuno, was at.

* * *

_**Suburban neighborhood - Republic City**_

Two men in officer uniforms knock on the door of a house in the suburbs. A man inside opens the door with a frown on his face; the judge who overlooked the case that threw the bending triads in jail. The two officers hold up identification badges, getting his attention.

"Judge Lenehn?" one of them says.

"Yes, that's me. What do you want?" he questions cautiously.

"We believe the Joker has made a threat against your life," he informs him.

"Against me?" Lenehn says, surprised.

"Chief Beifong wants us to make sure you get to a safe location," the other says. "You're to follow the directions we provide you."

"I'm sure it's not that serious to warrant-" he starts to say.

"I'm sorry sir, but it's the Chief's orders. He's expecting you there," the first states firmly.

"Beifong wants me to go right now?" Lenehn asks.

"These are dangerous people, Judge. Even we don't know where you're going," the second admits.

Judge Lenehn shakes his head in frustration but complies with their request, grabbing his jacket and car keys before walking with the two officers out to his car. Once he gets there, the first officer hands him an envelope, which he accepts with some hesitance.

"Get in, then open the envelope. It'll tell you where you're headed," he explains.

"There better be a good reason I have to drive who knows where for something that's not even certain," Lenehn scoffs in frustration, opening the door.

"Chief Beifong will answer any questions you have once you arrive," the other reassures him.

They both head back to their vehicle while Lenehn gets inside of his car with an irritated shake of his head, shutting the door once he's seated. Looking down at the envelope in his hands, he easily opens it and pulls out a letter, flipping the page open to read the directions. He frowns in confusion when he reads only one word:

_UP._

Lenehn glances up at the ceiling of his car, and before he could react to what he saw the entire vehicle explodes in a massive fireball, the two 'police officers' driving away in their own car without looking back.

An entire stack of Joker cards litter the ground around the flaming vehicle, leaving their mark.

* * *

_**Future Industries Tower - Republic City**_

**Caran POV...**

I peek out of the door both ways, smiling in satisfaction when I see it's not likely we'll be disturbed. Pulling my head back inside I close the door and turn to the others, making my way over to the group. We all decided to gather inside of what Asami said was the master bedroom of the penthouse. It had a big bed along the side, as well as several large couches gathered around a small table. The room didn't really have walls, just glass windows that stretched all the way around the exterior.

"I still can't believe buildings get this fancy," I remark.

"No kidding," Korra nods in agreement.

"I will never not be amazed by such luxury..." Bolin whimpers, his eyes wide as he looks around in amazement, almost crying.

"Bro, seriously?" Mako asks him.

"What? No matter what building Asami owns, it's always a man's paradise!" he defends himself.

"You better hope this fundraiser helps her, otherwise it's bye-bye fancy tower," Luon comments.

"That must be stressful. I've read a lot of negative things about Future Industries in the newspaper," Jinora comments with a frown.

"Yeah, the press suck," he replies with a nod.

"Too bad she can't join us right now," Korra remarks.

"She said she'll be here in a couple minutes, she just has to deal with a few more of the 'trust fund' brigade," Mako explains.

I sit down beside Jinora while Bolin manages to tear himself away from gazing happily at the room around us, plopping himself onto the couch beside Mako.

"Well, we might as well figure out what game we're gonna play while we wait for her!" he declares.

"Oooh, ohh, how about Pai Shao?" Jinora suggests eagerly.

"Do we have a board for that?" I ask curiously.

"Come on, there's no way this place doesn't have a board," Bolin says.

"Shame it's only two players," Luon says.

"A shame indeed, my young friends," a sinister voice interrupts.

We all freeze up in shock, recognizing the voice and jumping to our feet. Swiftly turning around I widen my eyes in surprise and fear upon seeing the Messenger standing in the doorway, his head covered by a dark mask and hood, and his lightsaber hilt is held in his hand, not yet activated.

"AAH!" Bolin yelps in surprise.

"You!" Korra shouts angrily.

Before I could pull out my own lightsaber or react, the Messenger raises his hand and blows us all away with a Force push, sending us sprawling over the couch in a heap of tumbling bodies. I grunt in pain, my lightsaber slipping out of my grasp and coming to a stop beside a black boot. I look up, even more fear filling me at seeing Vyra Ren towering over us, a sinister grin on her face.

"It seems as though Shan has not trained you well, child," she sneers.

Raising her hand, she unleashes a stream of black Force lightning out at all of us. During the next few seconds I could only perceive a few things: agonizing pain, and the faint sound of everyone's screams. Then I black out.

* * *

**3rd person POV...**

Vyra lowers her hand, looking over the smoking bodies of Caran, Korra, Luon, Jinora, Mako, and Bolin, scoffing in contempt. The Messenger steps forward and raises his lightsaber to activate it, but she gestures at him to back down.

"Stay your blade," she warns him. "Not yet."

"I thought you wanted me to kill these brats," Messenger scowls in confusion, irritated.

"That was before we lost the abilities provided by Amon," she reminds him, his lips curled into a slight snarl at recalling his failure. "Now we must be patient. The death of these children, while inevitable, is now premature."

"Fine," he growls angrily, putting his saber away. "But don't blame me the next time they become a nuisance."

"My master has a plan, Messenger. You'll get the chance to sate your bloodlust," she promises him.

The Messenger scoffs, glaring down at the unconscious Team Avatar with anger and frustration, his glare remaining on Caran the longest. Just then they both look up upon sensing something, and Vyra presses her lips into a thin line.

"Shan is fast approaching. Pull back for now," she tells the Messenger. "We've done our part in reminding these fools that they are helpless against us."

* * *

Ivan Shuno and Mera both walk through a door and into the kitchen for some privacy, the former shaking his head in exasperation.

"You cannot leave me on my own with these people," Shuno scoffs.

"Pretty much all of the bending triads are after you, and you're worried about these guys?" Mera asks incredulously, gesturing back in the direction of the party room.

"Compared to this, the triads don't scare me," he jokes in reply, before his expression becomes more thoughtful. "Although I will say, them gunning for you makes you see things clearly."

"Oh, yeah?" she asks curiously.

"Yeah. It makes you think about what you couldn't stand losing," he says, looking at her intently. "And who you want to spend the rest of your life with…"

Mera pauses for a second, looking directly into his eyes, a bit startled by the implication.

"The rest of your life, huh? That's a pretty big commitment," she points out.

"Not if the triads get their way," Shuno replies jokingly.

"Don't be like that," Mera scolds him.

"Okay. Let's be serious," he concedes with a nod, a hopeful look on his face. "What's your answer?"

Mera glances down, biting her lip nervously as she considers the possibility of what he's suggesting.

"I... don't really have an answer right now," she replies softly.

His face falls, but he shrugs it off lightly with a small smile.

"I guess no answer isn't 'no,'" he points out.

"I'm sorry, Ivan," she says apologetically, shaking her head. "I just…"

"It's someone else, isn't it?" he asks hesitantly, a bit cautious.

"No, of course not!" she states firmly in reply. "It's just a lot to think about."

"I guess that's fair," he sighs, shrugging his shoulders. "At least I don't have to worry about competing for some other…"

Whatever Shuno was about to say was cut off as a hand clamps down over his mouth, taking them both by surprise. During their conversation, Jarik had come up quietly from behind. Shuno lets out a muffled cry of surprise while Mera yelps in alarm. He wrestles with Jarik, panicking, but is easily subdued and dragged back toward a closet.

Although still startled and panicky, Mera does recognize Jarik for who he is, having seen his face at the press conference he participated in, and her fear quickly turns into astonishment, confusion, and a bit of anger.

"What the- hey!" she exclaims with a scowl, marching forward. "What are you doing with him?!"

Shuno slumps unconscious in Jarik's grip, and the Jedi quickly opens the closet and shoves him inside, locking it closed with a metal bar.

"They've come for him," Jarik replies sternly.

Sudden screams of fear echo out from the party before quickly going silent, and Mera looks back in realization, a new sense of alarm filling her.

"Stay hidden," he tells her, running off.

"Wh- after you just locked him in a closet?!" she calls out after him. "Hey!"

Jarik doesn't respond, his cape billowing as he disappears around the corner to leave Mera alone by herself, bewildered and annoyed.

* * *

The butler to the Sato family, and by extension, the Sato estate, approached the elevator door in calm strides, the bell above it ringing to signify new arrivals. He opens the door to greet the newcomers, only to stop in confusion as he sees a police officer standing there with his badge out, looking unusually tense and nervous. His confusion quickly changes to surprise and fear as the cop is shoved down by the Joker, revealing a band of thugs with him.

"We made it!" the Joker chirps, brandishing a DT-29 blaster pistol.

He shoves his way past the butler, who backs up with a nervous expression on his face, and marches confidently into the party room with his band of thugs, all wearing clown masks. Raising his blaster pistol into the air he fires off a shot, which releases a startling loud noise to get everyone's attention. The party guests let out a few shouts of surprise and fear, some of the women screaming in alarm at the sudden appearance, before falling silent as the criminals begin to move amongst them.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen!" the Joker greets cheerfully, lowering his blaster.

He starts to walk around the room, the guests all giving him a wide berth as he does so, and his thugs follow along with him. Some have blasters of their own, which they use to threaten the party guests and keep them back, while others just use their bending talents, mainly with fire. The Joker looks around with a raised eyebrow, casually kicking a metal tray that had fallen to the ground.

"We are… tonight's entertainment!" he continues with a wide grin.

He picks up a skewer and bites off a small piece of fruit before setting it back down, chewing viciously and looking up at the guests.

"I only have one question," he says between bites, taking a moment to swallow. "Where is, Ivan Shuno?"

The Joker pauses for a moment, glancing around in expectancy of an answer, only to roll his eyes when nobody does. He approaches a line of neatly dressed men and women, making them flinch in fear as he points his blaster, and swipes a small drink from one of them. He thrusts the wine glass up, causing all of the liquid to fly out and spatter all over the floor, and lifts it to his lips to drink as if it was still there before casually setting it back down onto the tray of a stunned waiter.

"You know who Ivan is? You know who he is?" he asks casually, smacking a few people.

* * *

Jarik marches down the hallway with a hardened expression on his face, making his way to the party room. Turning around a corner he comes across one of the criminals standing in the hallway, carrying a DLT-19 blaster rifle. The thug looks up in surprise at his entrance, before ignorantly scoffing in amusement.

"You came in the wrong costume pretty boy?" he asks mockingly, raising his blaster rifle. "Hands up before I use this- AGH!"

The thug yelps in surprise as Jarik lunges forward and smacks the rifle upwards. He tries to retaliate, but it only takes a few moments for Jarik to kick him in the kneecap and then rip the blaster rifle out of his hands, swinging it like a bat and connecting it with his face. The thug is hit hard enough to knock him off his feet, where he hits the ground flat on his back with a pained groan, falling unconscious.

With practiced ease, Jarik dismantles the DLT-19 into several pieces without losing pace in his walk, his mask forming over his face to shine in the light while he pulls his hood up as well.

* * *

The Joker gently grabs a terrified woman's face, peering into her eyes.

"You know an 'Ivan?' I need to talk to him about something, something little, hmm?" he asks cheekily.

The woman however doesn't respond, paralyzed with fear, and after a little shake of her head he released her and moves on with a dull expression, exasperated.

"Nope," he comments dismissively. "Someone's gotta know who I'm talking about, right? No?"

He stops beside a food tray with a sigh, popping another piece of fruit into his mouth while the guests look on incredulously.

"You know, I'll settle for his loved ones," he suggests casually, putting his blaster back in its holster and reaching out for a drink.

"We're not intimidated by thugs!" an old man snaps, scowling at him.

The Joker pauses in his chewing, fixing the old man with a look and narrowing his eyes as if in recognition. Placing the cup down rather hard he nods his head and reaches down to his pocket.

"You know, you remind me of my father," the Joker remarks. Without warning he lunges out and grabs the man behind his head, holding a small knife up to his face. "I hated my father!"

"Hey! Joker!" a voice calls out.

The Joker pauses in his actions and shifts his gaze over slowly, resting his eyes on the sight of a young woman with black hair standing in the middle of the room, glaring at him.

"I'd suggest you get out before things get ugly," she demands.

He raises an amused eyebrow and lets go of the old man, shoving him away to let his goons take care of him. Walking towards the woman, the Joker licks his finger and uses it to brush his messy hair back more cleanly, humming with curiosity.

"Well hello beautiful," he says, gesturing to her with his knife knowingly. "You must be Ms. Asami Sato!"

"That's right," Asami says, taking a step forward without fear. "And in case you didn't realize it, you never received an invite."

"Oh, I invited myself, missy," the Joker replies, smirking. "I hope you don't mind too badly."

He starts to circle her, analyzing her with predatory eyes while Asami watches his every move unfazed, tensing up only slightly. A few of his thugs come forward to surround them, also keeping the crowd back several feet from them. Seeing that she wasn't too intimidated by his circling of her, the Joker nods in satisfaction, coming to a stop in front of her.

"Nice to see you're not a skimpy damsel," he comments, reaching out to her. "Still, you seem a bit tense. Is it the scars?"

Asami furrows her brow in bewilderment at his question, and he looks back at her with a curious gleam in his eyes.

"Wanna know how I got 'em?" he asks, reaching out to her. "Come here."

He grabs her arm and steps up to her, also reaching out to hold her face. Asami scoffs angrily and shoves him back slightly, intending to fight him when the sound of guns being cocked gains her attention, and a quick glance shows the other goons tensing up, ready to aim and shoot her if she resisted. She scowls but halts her movements in favor of glaring at the Joker, who continues holding her jaw as if nothing happened, his knife casually held in the same hand as an incentive of restraint.

"See, I had a wife, who was beautiful, like you... who tells me I worry too much. Who tells me I oughta smile more. Who gambles. And gets in deep with the sharks," he starts off, launching into his tale. "One day they carve her face, and we've got no money for surgeries. She can't take it."

He presses the tip of his blade lightly against Asami's cheek, making her grimace uneasily, but she still continues to listen in disgust at his story, her glare hardening.

"I just want to see her smile again. I just want her to know I don't care about the scars!" the Joker says longingly. "So I put a razor in my mouth, and do this... to myself.

He uses his knife to emphasize his gestures, waving it alongside his mouth while making chewing motions.

"And you know what? She can't stand the sight of me!" he cries out angrily. "She leaves! See, now I see the funny side. Now I'm always smiling!"

The Joker waves his hands with a wild green for emphasis, and Asami finally snaps. She grabs the wrist of his hand holding onto her arm and twists it, lifting her foot up and then kicking him in the chest to knock him away. The Joker stumbles back with a grunt of pain, but gestures to his thugs to pull back when they start to aim their blasters, standing back up with a delighted smirk, chuckling at her.

"A little fight in you!" he says gleefully, approaching her again. "I like that."

"Then you're gonna love me," another voice interrupts.

Both Asami and the Joker look over in surprise to see Jarik appear out of nowhere, garbed in his full Jedi attire, mask covering his face. He swings an arm and slugs the Joker in the chest, knocking him down to slide across the floor on his back. The rest of the thugs all jump into action, charging at the Jedi. Asami takes the opportunity to roll out of harm's way, muttering angrily under her breath as her movement is hampered slightly by her dress.

One thug leaps forward with a swing of his arm, but Jarik leans out of the way and retaliates by kicking him down. Another shoots his blaster rifle at him, but Jarik whips around with his lightsaber out and deflects the blast back at him, the bolt hitting him in the chest. Party guests scream in fright at the sudden battle, but the combatants pay them no mind. A firebender throws a ball of fire at Jarik, but he swipes his lightsaber up to cut through the flames and then jumps over to kick him in the head, knocking him out cold.

Asami takes a step back to avoid one thug who tries grabbing her and then dashes forward, gripping his arm and then twisting around to throw him to the ground, kicking him in the head to knock him unconscious.

The Joker scrambles to his feet with a snarl, looking over to watch as Jarik slices a blaster in half with his lightsaber before blasting them against the wall with the Force. Looking behind him, the Joker surprises one of his goons by grabbing them and then swings them around in Jarik's direction as a makeshift weapon.

Jarik turns around only to receive a swift punch to the face from the guy shoved at him, stumbling back with a surprised grunt. Another thug jumps on him from behind in an attempt to restrain his arms while the first creates a ball of fire in his hands. Jarik reaches his arm out as the firebender throws his blast down, grabbing his wrist before he could finish it off so the fire flies past him harmlessly, and then yanks him down to slam his face against the hard floor. Before he could take care of the goon restraining him, the Joker starts to pummel him with swift kicks in quick succession, and he lifts his arms to protect himself.

Clicking the heel of his boot against the floor, the Joker grins as a small blade snaps out of the front, and he kicks Jarik once more. Jarik grunts in pain as the small blade pierces him before shoving him back. The Joker stumbles for a second, laughing in delight, and then starts moving forward to kick him once more. However, Jarik reaches behind him to grab the thug restraining him and yanks on his arms, a cry of pain coming from him as he dislocates his shoulder and slams him to the floor.

Finally free, Jarik whips around and throws a fierce punch at the Joker once more, striking him in the chest and sending him sliding across the floor with a grunt of pain. The Joker scrambles back towards his blaster with a growl of frustration while Jarik turns to face the last criminal who throws fireballs at him.

Asami whips around upon hearing a growl from behind her, crying out in surprise as the Joker tackles her to the floor. She elbows him in the gut and attempts to free herself, but he merely snickers at her attempts without a care in the world and yanks her up to her feet, aiming the blaster at her forehead with a finger on the trigger, restraining her in front of him. Asami stills in unease, unable to do anything else without risking getting her head blown off.

"Easy missy," the Joker whispers.

Jarik uses the Force to cast a fireball harmlessly to the floor and then pulls the firebender through the air with it, lashing his foot out and kicking him unconscious. He whips around upon hearing the commotion and sees the Joker restraining Asami with a blaster leveled point blank at her forehead, grinning triumphantly at him.

"Drop it, now," he orders firmly, taking a step forward.

"Oh, and risk the wrath of the great Jarik Shan, esteemed Jedi Master?" he scoffs in amusement. "First I'd like to talk about how you should just take that little trainee of yours and leave our planet, hmm?"

Jarik doesn't respond, only narrowing his eyes. The Joker chuckles at him and then aims his blaster behind him, firing off a shot that blows out a pane of glass. Asami yelps in surprise, and he wrestles her over to the opening and dangles her by the ledge.

"You're making a big mistake Joker," Jarik says slowly, taking another step forward. "Let her go."

The Joker just looks back at him with a baffled expression which quickly turns into an amused and condescending smirk.

"Very poor choice of words," he says mockingly.

With a laugh, the Joker releases Asami so that she falls out of the window, over a drop of several hundred feet. Widening his eyes in alarm, Jarik wastes no time in sprinting forward while the Joker backs away to give him plenty of room, laughing at him as he passes by. He jumps out of the window without hesitation and angles his body in a straight line towards Asami, who he can see below her.

Asami screams in terror, her hair whipping around her face as she plummets helplessly down to the city street below. Scowling in determination, Jarik holds his arms out and grabs her with the Force, pulling her back to him. Once in reaching distance he grabs a hold of her, and Asami latches on tightly in desperation. She continues to scream however as they fall, and Jarik looks down at the ground below, which is fast approaching.

Calling on the tremendous Force powers available to him, he secures his grip on Asami with his left arm while holding out his right hand, generating a bubble beneath them. Only a few dozen feet from the ground they begin to slow down, their speed rapidly decreasing and changing more to a soft descent. Finally they come to a gentle landing as Jarik lands in a crouch, using the Force to soften and stabilize their fall. Asami is no longer screaming but is still latched onto Jarik tightly with all four limbs, eyes squeezed shut in fear.

"It's ok… you're safe now," Jarik tells her softly.

Still unsure, Asami hesitantly opens one eyelid to see if he's telling the truth, her eyes widening more as she realizes they're safely on the ground and no longer plummeting to their deaths. She glances at Jarik, who retracts his mask to smile at her reassuringly.

"Holy Shu…" she murmurs in shock. "We're not falling…"

"We aren't," he replies with a nod.

Reluctantly, as if fearing to release him would mean she'd continue falling, Asami slowly untangles herself from Jarik and places her feet on the ground with a slight tremor, pulling her arms back as well to stand on her own. Jarik places a hand on her back with a look of concern.

"You alright?" he asks her.

"Yeah, I'm ok…" she replies slowly, looking at him in amazement. "Thank you, so… so much!"

"You're welcome," he replies, smiling reassuringly at her.

"Oh no!" Asami exclaims, panicking again. "The rest of the people, Korra and the others-"

"They're fine," Jarik quickly interrupts. "The Joker's not up there anymore."

"What?" she asks incredulously.

"He was only looking for the senator. Everything else was just fun and games to him," he tells her, looking up at the building with narrowed eyes. "I do know that he's not done just yet."

* * *

**Caran POV...**

_The Joker lunges out at me through the mist several times, laughing and snarling with each attack. I stumble back in fear to avoid him, and he slinks into the shadows once more, howling with laughter. Then it's the Knights of Ren, Vyra and the Messenger, who jump out and take a few swipes at me with either a lightsaber or Vyra's sharp fingernails. Sometimes lightning gets blasted at me, and I scream in fear in anticipation of the pain, only to feel nothing._

_The hanging corpse of Karrisi dangles in the air a few feet away, taunting me, reminding me of the horrors of these lunatics._

_"Long have I waited..." a deep voice growls._

_I whip around, hyperventilating as I gaze upon a large, spiky thrown made out of black stone, lightning flashing around it to provide brief moments of illumination. A dark shadowy figure is seated on the throne, the only thing I can see from them without the lightning flashes are their glowing red eyes._

_"Such lost potential in you, Caran. I am what you could aspire to be."_

_I back away from the dark figure, noticing the faint gleam of a smile on his face. He looks like pure evil._

_"I will give you so much more..." he growls._

_"You have nothing to give me!" I snap in an attempt of defiance, stumbling back from him._

_"My boy, you will have to face the truth soon. And when Jarik Shan discovers your secret, he will turn on you," he sneers mockingly._

_"Stay away!" I scream, turning around and running away._

_I don't know what to feel, only fear and pain._


	12. (important notice)

_**Important Notice:** Hello readers! Sorry for the late uploading schedule (once again) but I've been distracted by other things going on in my life lately. I've also come to an important decision that I think needs to be addressed regarding my stories. I've decided to put everything else on hold so that I can finish the Legacy of Jarik Shan series, as it's taken a lot longer than I originally anticipated._

_Part of this comes from the fact that maintaining my focus between several stories all at once is really hard to do, while also maintaining a continuous upload schedule. Not to mention the longer it takes to finish this story, the more it hinders my ability to progress and do things in others, specifically the Reylea storyline. There's even something in 'Secrets of Jinn' that ties directly into my plans for what the Sequel era will be like in the Shaniverse, and I don't really want to spoil it prematurely. (in Mysteries of Reylea, dancing around certain things to try and not spoil LOJS V5 is becoming a bit frustrating, and I don't think it helps that story to avoid things like this)_

_So anyways, all of my stories aside from the Legacy of Jarik Shan (V5 of course, then V2 and V1), is not going to receive any more updates until I finish V5. It may be a bit disappointing, but I think this is the best way to move forward without ruining the overall storyline. There are things that will be revealed in V5 that are absolutely essential to know for everything to make sense going forward. __I hope you all will understand my reasoning, and here's to hoping I can finish up V5 very soon! I'm planning to have it completed at the very latest by the end of the summer._

* * *

_**Author's Note: **This update message will be removed once "LOJS V5: Rebirth" is completed._


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